No Light Without Dark
by LadyKaye
Summary: Hermione is forced to use darker methods in order to protect the ones she loves.  SS/HG story.  Slightly Darker Hermione.  M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Hey Everyone, this is my first fanfiction since I was about 12. Hopefully my writing has improved since then as now I am 21. My wonderful Beta is taking college finals, but once summer starts chapters should be updated regularly. Hope you enjoy.

**I am a Biology major at college, and the reason for that is because I hate English. So if there are a few grammar mistakes that is because my Beta, who is much better at English than me, is still taking finals.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the kingdom that J.K. Rowling has built for herself, although I wish I did.

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

It had been two days since the last attack. Seven muggleborn families and three Order members had been targeted in the last month alone. Only two of the families, and one Order member had been saved in time. Voldemort was getting more ambitious with his homicidal tendencies and the Order of the Phoenix was getting desperate. He was going after the families that had less magical power, the muggleborns. Not only did they have to protect themselves, but their parents as well. Not only that, but the Order was quickly learning that their secret identities as members were being leaked. They had a traitor in their ranks, and short of subjecting every person to Veritaserum they could not figure out whom.

It was becoming clear that Voldemort wasn't going to be fooled for much longer; every time he mentioned who the next victim was during a Dark Revel, they would be saved. It didn't take long for him to learn there was a traitor in his ranks; it was only his inability to pinpoint who that traitor was that was keeping their agent safe. He had taken to telling his Deatheaters one name in public and then having a private meeting with a few inner circle members to discuss who the true victim would be.

"I am unable to verify who the targets are without exposing myself as a spy. The moment I ask who it would look suspicious," Severus said with annoyance and frustration in his voice as he paced back and forth. He knew that because he was not told to join the private meetings that he was under suspicion. If he was found out, and somehow survived, he would be at a loss. His life would become meaningless if he could not spy, and the last twenty years of his life would have been for nothing.

The Order sat at the kitchen table of Grimmauld Place. The stove had many pots and pans on it, and anyone who entered the house would be assaulted by the smells of a home-cooked meal. Mrs. Weasley was running around serving soup and bread to everyone that was there. It was the summer before seventh year and Harry, Hermione, and Ron were now old enough to join the Order. They had been inducted the evening before, and despite Mrs. Weasley's threats and concerns they had made the vows to protect and serve the Order of the Phoenix.

"I understand your dilemma Severus, but we are losing Order members rapidly, and short of assigning every family their own personal auror, we can do nothing to protect them all," Dumbledore said gravely after taking a cup of tea from Mrs. Weasley, "we just don't have that sort of manpower."

Severus looked at Dumbledore like he had just told him that a Bezoar was found in a giraffe stomach. He finally gave up pacing and sat down at the table. Mrs. Weasley bustled over to him and placed some soup and a piece of bread in front of him. "You must eat dear, you are too thin, and if you want to keep spying you must remain healthy," she said while looking him up and down and shaking her head. Severus pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance and picked up the bread ripping off a piece and chewing on it.

In the middle of the table rested a copy of _The Daily Prophet_ with a picture of the entire Creevey family on the front. The bright and cheery family photo was the only happy thing on the page. They had been murdered in their own home. Being part of a muggle household the Creevey brothers had tried their best to defend their parents, but they did not stand a chance against the Deatheaters that had forced their way into the house. They had sent out the distress signal that the Order had enacted, but help arrived two minutes too late.

Tonks had been the one to receive the distress call via patronus. The small sparrow had sped towards her shouting the message, and no more than four minutes later they were at the house. Apparently four minutes was still too long. It had taken her two minutes to send out a massive distress call to the ministry aurors. She had flooed to Grimmauld place to get Remus, Sirius, and Mad-eye who were having an impromptu meeting concerning the wards on muggleborn homes.

"The Creeveys are under attack!" she had shouted and ran towards the front door to apparate with the men close on her tail, but by the time they got there it was too late. The dark mark was floating ominously above the house chanting its triumph for all to see. She had sprinted into the home through the splintered front door, and shouted for Colin and Dennis. She had found them in front of their parents' bedroom door, slumped on the ground, their open eyes glazed over. She fell to her knees and started to cry as she held them both. Remus leaned down to provide support for Tonks, and silently handed her his handkerchief. Mad-eye had stepped past them into the bedroom and found their parents laying by the dresser in much the same manner as their sons.

A single tear rolled down Tonks' cheek as she looked at the newspaper in front of her. She couldn't stop recalling the sick feeling of despair that had hit her upon seeing the dark mark. The mark was a symbol of death, and more than that, it meant that they had failed once again. That _she _had failed. Hermione reached over and squeezed Tonks' hand for support. There was nothing they could have done, they had acted as fast as they could. It was apparent that the Deatheaters were only getting orders to kill, not torture. They were becoming more efficient, and the Order just couldn't keep up.

Harry was fidgeting in his seat. He kept glancing over at Hermione, worried that she would be next. He knew that she was close to the top of Voldemort's list. She was not only muggleborn, but also one of his best friends. He couldn't help to think what would happen if he lost the sister he never had.

Hermione saw the worry in his eyes as she glanced around the table, but didn't comment. Harry's fears were not unfounded; she knew that she was in danger, as well as her family.

"Mad-eye, Sirius and I have been considering using wards on homes of those who we know are in the most danger. We think that if the wards were to alert the members of the Order it would give us and the aurors more time to act," Remus explained while Sirius nodded in agreement next to him. Sirius continued, "Every time we get an alert we must take the time to inform the aurors and the Order members separately, this way they will be alerted at the same time."

"Wards on muggleborn homes would be effective, but given the current state that the Ministry is in, they'll be nearly impossible to implement. Wards are strictly regulated and apart from specifically sanctioned areas such as Hogwarts, they generally need to be approved," Kingsley chimed in as he walked over to an empty chair next to Ron and sat down. Mrs. Weasley placed a cup of tea in front of him which he gladly accepted.

"We illegally used the wards of Hogwarts to make the Marauder's map, and we can still use wards without Ministry permission," Sirius protested, nudging Remus knowingly, his voice reflecting clear pride in their childhood accomplishment.

"Actually, I'm already using low class wards on the perimeter of my parents' house to alert me if a non-approved person enters the property," Hermione revealed matter-of-factly. "I took the liberty of reading some books on ward casting I found here, and decided that I am too much of a target not to take steps to keep my family safe," she said looking directly at Harry who smiled at her.

"Well it seems like a great idea Remus, but we will need to get the Ministry's approval to use mass wards in heavily muggle populated areas," said Dumbledore who had just finished his cup of tea, and was standing up to take his leave. "As for you Miss Granger, I am glad to see you are taking your protection into your own hands, but in the future, I would prefer you talk to me about it first." He smiled at her benignly. She smiled back and nodded her head briefly in understanding.

As Dumbledore was walking out of the kitchen to leave Harry rose and followed him. "Sir, can I speak to you in private for a moment?" he asked with a pleading look in his eye.

"Of course Harry, Shall we head up to the library," Dumbledore recommended as he turned to head up the stairs. He reached the oak library door and turned the brass handle, revealing a circular room lined with shelves upon shelves of books from floor to ceiling. A warm fire welcomed them in in as Harry lowered himself onto the old-fashioned gray couch and Dumbledore chose a leather wingback chair closer to the fire.

Harry opened and closed his mouth several times, considering the best way to phrase his question. He shook his head. This was too important. He needed to be direct. "Sir, I'm worried about Hermione and her family. She is not safe at home, and I think she should have her house watched just in case. Is there any way that we can get the aurors to guard her house, just over the summer?" he pleaded.

Dumbledore didn't immediately respond, and the silence sat between them for a brief moment as he pondered. "I understand your concern Harry, and I assure you I will do my best to find protection for Miss Granger and her family, but I cannot guarantee anything. The aurors are spread thin as it is trying to do everything Fudge asks, but I'm sure I can find someone to watch her home if I ask Kingsley."

"Thank you sir for understanding, she is like my sister, and I couldn't bear if anything happened to her."

Dumbledore smiled at the love and concern Harry was showing. "Well, if that's all, I must be getting back to Hogwarts. I have a meeting with a few ministry officials to discuss the safety of the students for next year," he said as he stood, giving Harry a brief smile and nodding before he left the library with a still concerned Harry inside.

Harry gazed into the fire as if I held all the answers of the world, and didn't notice Hermione and Ron enter the room until they sat down on the couch next to him. Startled, he tore his eyes away from the flickering flames and looked up at his friends, allowing them to see the fear in his eyes. "I'm afraid that they are going to take you Hermione and then where will Ron and I be?"

Ron nodded in agreement.

Hermione smiled softly and stood up, walking over to one of the bookshelves. She scanned the rows of books briefly before pulling out a worn black book with no title on the front or spine. She sat back down on the couch and opened it to a bookmarked page. "Chapter 17: The Power of Wards," she began. "I may have said 'low-level' during the meeting, but in actuality the wards I have used are very powerful. I had to use a small amount of darker magic to erect them around my home. My family and I will be perfectly safe while I visit them for a few weeks," she explained. Knowing that the use of dark magic would have been frowned upon by the people of the Order meeting, she chose to remain silent about that small fact.

Harry seemed to brighten a bit at the mention of stronger wards, but it slowly faded as he took in the fact that she had used "darker" magic. "What do you mean 'darker magic'?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Do you remember when Ron explained how his house is protected?" she asked while gesturing towards Ron. Harry gave her a blank expression. "Each member of his family gave a small amount of blood to be woven magically into the wards." She explained while flipping to the correct page in the book. Harry nodded as he began to recall the conversation a few months back. "According to basic magic regulations, any spell or potion that involves human blood is 'dark'," she continued while pointing to a specific paragraph. She put the book on Harry's lap and stood to take her leave.

"I am going to take a shower, pack, and then go to bed. I will see you guys in the morning before I go home, okay?" she said giving each of them a brief hug. She turned and walked out of the library and continued up the stairs.

She entered her room that she shared with Ginny and grabbed the dressing gown hanging over the back of the desk chair. She then headed over to the bathroom that they shared. She turned on the water and let it run until it got hot. As she took off her clothing she spotted the long, thin scar across her torso. She traced the scar with her finger from her right shoulder diagonally going across her bellybutton. She remembered that night clearly in the Department of Mysteries, and she remembered the man who gave it to her, Dolohov. Two years ago it was an ugly scar to her, but now that she was older she understood that it was more of a battle wound that she should be proud of.

She stepped into the shower and let the hot water run down her back and face. She knew that she was taking a risk visiting her parents, but she didn't want to lose the close relationship with them. She wasn't going to let some snake-like homicidal manic keep her from being able to hug her father, or taste her mother's wonderful cooking. She smiled at the thought.

As she stepped out of the shower she cast a drying spell wandlessly on her body. She didn't like to show off her wandless capabilities, but in the privacy of her bathroom she took the liberty. She never used magic on her wet hair anymore. She learned early on that using magic only made the frizz grow, and letting it dry naturally led to the large bouncing curls that she had always desired. She threw on her dressing gown and walked across the hallway into her room.

Ginny was on her bed reading a book and writing on a piece of parchment taking notes. She looked up when Hermione entered and smiled. Hermione smiled back and began to put on her night clothes. She looked around the room and stared at all her scatted belongings. Sighing, she began to pick up her books and clothes, shrink them, and throw them in her open trunk. About a half hour later she looked around nodding in satisfaction that she had gotten everything. Remembering that she had left the book on wards with Harry she went down stairs to retrieve it.

As she entered the library she did not see the man sitting in one of the chairs in the corner watching her. She walked over to the couch they were sitting on earlier and saw the book lying on the table next to it. She picked it up and walked over to the bookshelves to grab a few more books she needed for the visit to her parents.

Onyx eyes watched her as she collected another book on wards, one on the history of blood magic, and an obscure potions book that she had wanted to look at. "Do they know that you are taking the Black family books out of their home Miss Granger?" a deep silky voice spoke. Hermione jumped and dropped the book that she had just pulled off the shelf, and spun to meet the voice's owner.

"Professor Snape, you startled me," she breathed taking deep breathes to slow down her heart. "Yes, I did ask Sirius if I could borrow some of the book from his library," she answered.

"Do they know the type of books that you are taking, or do they assume that you are just reading up on the history of Giant Wars in 1806?" he inquired as he moved towards her to look at her book selection. He grabbed the book that she had dropped and looked at the title. _Potions and the Dark Ages_ was written on the front in gold lettering. "Miss Granger, this book contains more potions that intend to harm or kill the consumer rather than help them, why are you taking this?" his voice was cold and he looked at her like she was a common thief.

"Sir, I am an adult and can read what I wish to. I am not intending on brewing these potions, but am more interested in the theory. I am sure you can understand that as you are a potions master," she answered in a small voice as if she was not sure of herself.

He flipped open the book and turned to the page showing pictures of the victims of the _Ferventis __S__anguinis_ Potion [1] and gave it back to her. She looked down at the page briefly and her eyes widened in horror. "Miss Granger, this book is full of potions that do much worse; I am telling you to be cautious when it comes to dark potions," he explained and then turned to the fireplace, and pulled a small pouch from his pocket. She watched him as he poured some powder from into the fireplace, which immediately turned emerald green. "Good evening Miss Granger," he said before stepping into the flames and flooing back to Hogwarts.

Green flames turned back to orange, and glanced one more time at the pictures. She snapped the book shut and headed out of the library. She walked upstairs and when she entered her bedroom she noticed that Ginny had fallen asleep while reading. The book was on her stomach and she was snoring softly. She walked over and softly picked up the book to set on the bedside table. The title read _Winning Women in the World of Quidditch_. Hermione smiled and turned to put the books she had collected from the library in her trunk.

She was happy that Ginny had found something she loved in life, but she noticed that her grades had been slacking because of it. She shrugged and figured that she would talk to her friend in the morning.

She went over to her bed and sat down. She toed off her slippers and laid down while pulling the covers over herself. She waved her hand towards the lights and the dimmed into darkness. She gradually fell to sleep with thoughts of potions, Quidditch, and wards on her mind.

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><p>[1] <em>Ferventis <em>_S__anguinis_ potion translated to Blood Boiling Potion in Latin

Reviews are appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hermione slowly woke up to the sounds of a house full of people. Some of them were screaming down the hallway to get someone's attention, while others were yelling at them for being too loud. '_Well they're being a bit hypocritical aren't they?'_ She thought to herself as she cracked open an eye to look around. She casted a quick _Tempus _spell and saw that it was 9:34 in the morning. She rubbed her eyes blearily and sat up. Ginny rushed into the room and started looking under her bed for something.

"Good Morning Ginny," Hermione said, stifling a yawn. She threw back her covers and swung her feet over the edge. Clearly not hearing her greeting, Ginny crawled further underneath the bed in search of the mystery item. Hermione shrugged to herself and hopped out of bed putting on a pair of slippers and pulling her dressing gown on over her night clothes.

"Hey Hermione, have you seen my broom cleaning kit?" Ginny asked, her voice muffled as she was still under the bed, throwing things into the middle of the room from underneath, "I asked Harry and Ron if they'd seen it, they both said no."

Hermione thought for a moment, "The last I remember seeing it was in the garden under one of the benches. Remember you sat by the dead roses cleaning your broom?" she asked remembering that three days before that they had had a huge Quidditch tournament.

She had only sat watching the game while reading up on wards and drinking some tea. It had been Ginny, Charlie, Tonks, Moody, Ron, Fred, and against Harry, Remus, Arthur, Kinglsey, George, and Bill. Each team was down one member as there were not enough people willing to play, and each team had only two chasers. It had been a one sided game up to point 120, as Ron was a much better Keeper than Kinglsey. However, in the end Ginny was the one who had spotted the Snitch and caught it while Harry was dealing with a bludger sent by Fred. The final score was 120 to 150, and a rematch was set in the weeks to come when they all had free time.

Hermione smiled at the thought of being able to just play and relax during such a dreadful time. She longed for the day that she and her friends weren't forced to think about murder and destruction. Not to mention a certain evil snake-man who was bent on the destruction of her kind and anyone opposed to that notion.

Ginny crawled out from under the bead and ran down the stairs to check the gardens while Hermione took her time and walked calmly down to the kitchen for breakfast. As she descended lower into the house she started smelling the amazing aromas of a fresh cooked breakfast. The scents of eggs, toast, juice, sausage, bacon, tea, and fresh cut fruit entered her nose as she walked into the kitchen. She eyed the newest edition of _The Daily Prophet_ on the table while sitting down next to Tonks, who only had a single piece of toast on her plate. Seeing that Tonks was not really eating anything, she took the liberty of scooping some eggs onto her plate for her. Tonks looked up and just gave a smile that did not reach her eyes.

"You know it is not your fault Tonks," Hermione whispered and handed her a fork, "You were faster than any other Order member would have been. You were brilliant and prepared; it's just that the Deatheaters were faster. We are going to try and enact wards on the homes of those who are most at risk, and then we will be able to act even faster."

Tonks just nodded her head and pushed her eggs around her plate with the fork. Hermione turned towards her own plate and put some eggs, toast, and fresh cut strawberries on it. She then poured herself some tea and added milk and sugar to it. Just as she was about to take a bite of eggs the floo activated and Remus stepped through. Everything stopped in the kitchen as Remus entered through the fireplace. Generally speaking, it was never a good sign if he showed up this early in the morning. Even Mrs. Weasley froze midway in putting a dish of biscuits into the oven.

Remus looked around at the three women who were no longer moving, but staring at him attentively. He gave a brief smile, "Don't worry girls, I'm just here for breakfast. Nothing's happened, but I find it sad that my presence normally means something terrible has occurred," he sighed and took the seat on the other side of Tonks, who gave him a small smile.

He leaned in closer to her, "How are you this morning?" he whispered into her ear. She just nodded and continued to push her food around her plate. He rubbed her back as Mrs. Weasley set a plate, silverware, and a teacup in front of him. He squeezed Tonks in a half-hug before turning to the food on the table and piling his plate with bacon, sausage, and eggs. Hermione chuckled at this and turned back to her own food. Remus smiled sheepishly, "When it's this close to the full moon I get more of a craving for meat," he explained before taking a strip of bacon and shoving it whole into his mouth. Hermione just nodded and smiled, she'd been familiar with this behavior since her 3rd year thanks to Professor Snape.

Tonks giggled a little at Remus' display as he continued to stuff whole sausages and bacon into his mouth. She turned her face away from him, turning back a few seconds later with a pig snout and a smile. Remus choked laughing, and Tonks had to pat him on the back vigorously to get the food out of his wind pipe. Hermione couldn't breathe she was laughing so hard and clutched at her stomach, leaning over trying to catch her breath.

"That's the first time I've seen you smile in days Dora," Remus said to Tonks after he wiped his mouth with a napkin. She elbowed him in the side and took a piece of bacon off the serving dish shoving it whole into her mouth. He smiled fondly, shaking his head and continued to eat his meal.

Mrs. Weasley put the now freshly baked biscuits on the table and walked over to the kitchen door, "Everybody better get down here and eat before the food gets cold!" she shouted attempting to get everyone's attention. Scrambling feet could be heard rushing down the stairs as Ron, Harry, Fred, George, and Sirius came to the first floor. Ginny also walked in through the door that led to the garden with the broom cleaning kit in her hands.

The twins each took a biscuit off the tray without sitting, went over to their mother, and kissed her on the cheeks at the same time. "Thanks mum," said Fred, "But we have to go to the shop," continued George, "Because it opens at 10:30 today," they finished together. They stepped out of the kitchen and headed to the front door to apparate to Diagon Alley.

As they all started to gather food onto their plates the floo activated. From the green flames appeared Dumbledore, and closely behind him, McGonagall. They smiled and greeted everyone with a "Good Morning."

"Would either of you like a cup of tea or something to eat?" Mrs. Weasley asked, already reaching for two more plates to add to the table.

"No thank you Molly we are just here to drop these off," McGonagall answered as she pulled out four envelopes from her tartan robe pocket and placed them on the table. Hermione noted that they were their Hogwarts supply letters and schedules for next year.

"If it's not too much trouble, we would also like to speak with Sirius and Remus about the wards from last night, in the library?" Dumbledore inquired while winking at Harry, who smiled sheepishly in response. The two men nodded and rose together from the kitchen table following the headmaster and deputy headmistress out of the room.

Hermione picked up the letters, as they were closest to her, and handed them to their respective owners. Harry ripped open his envelope and looked at his schedule, "This is excellent! I have Tuesdays off, and I get a three day weekend!" he exclaimed as he showed Ginny, who smiled warmly at him.

Hermione frowned at this, "How many classes are you taking Harry?" she asked.

Harry looked at her with wide eyes, and pointed to the red head sitting across from him, "The same number as Ron," he finished lamely.

She turned to look at Ron, who was stuffing his mouth with his fourth biscuit, and raised an eyebrow in question. He swallowed what was in his mouth, "We're both taking five classes, and that is a lot of NEWTs that we have to deal with," he explained. The aurors that they planned to join only required five NEWTs, but they all had to be an E or higher. Harry had been talking about it the other evening, stating that if they didn't just let him in after what he has been through with Voldemort, then there is something wrong with the ministry. Hermione had told him that he should not rely on that to get the career he wanted, but Ron had taken his side and Hermione had backed down not wanting to argue.

"Can I see one of your schedules?" she asked holding out her hand. Harry handed her his schedule and she looked at the piece of parchment:

_Harry Potter: 7__th__ Year Gryffindor _

_Monday Charms Herbology_

_Tuesday _ __

_Wednesday DADA __

_Thursday Transfiguration Flying_

_Friday __

_*Head Boy duties, including weekly meetings at a date to be determined, will apply to this schedule*_

Hermione's eyes widened at the last line, "Harry! Did you see that you got Head Boy? Congratulations!" she exclaimed. Harry was suddenly bombarded with hugs from Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Hermione.

Ron looked at the bottom of his schedule and saw the note:

_*Prefect duties will apply to this schedule as mandated by the head boy, head girl, or a head of house*Also, as Captain of Gryffindor Quidditch team, weekly practice sessions should be considered into your schedule at your discretion*_

Ron beamed at this, "Congratulations Harry, and look," he said while showing them his schedule, "I am a prefect so I can help you with you duties." Hermione hugged him tightly as well as Ginny. Mrs. Weasley was dabbing her cheeks with a handkerchief because she could no longer contain her tears of joy. Harry read the bottom line of Ron's schedule, "Look Ron, you made Quidditch captain as well!" he exclaimed and patted him on the back.

Before the start of summer last year Dumbledore had asked Harry to give up his position as Quidditch captain so that he could focus more on the training he would need to defeat Voldemort. Harry understood that sometimes sacrifices needed to be made for the greater good, and he sent a letter to Professor McGonagall. He told her that he was resigning and recommended that Ron take his place as captain, and Ginny take his position as Seeker.

Hermione opened her letter and pulled out her schedule:

_Hermione Granger: 7__th__ Year Gryffindor _

_Monday Charms Herbology_

_Tuesday Ancient Runes History of Magic_

_Wednesday DADA Arithmancy _

_Thursday Transfiguration Muggle Studies_

_Friday Potions_

_*Head Girl duties, including weekly meetings at a date to be determined, will apply to this schedule*_

Ron glanced over at Hermione's schedule and gasped in shock, "Blimey Hermione, you're taking nine NEWTs this year? Are you bloody mad?" he said while leaning towards her to get a better look, "And on top of that insane schedule you are also head girl? Good luck with that, you're going to need it."

Minerva walked back into the room beaming. She was so excited when she found out that her house had the positions of both head boy and head girl. "Did you both know that Gryffindor hasn't had both positions in over twenty years!" she stated proudly. "Furthermore, if anyone can handle nine NEWTs and be head girl at the same time, it would be Hermione," she declared delightfully while looking at Ron.

Mrs. Weasley collected all of the new badges, "I am going to sew these onto your school robes right now. I am so proud of all of you," she nearly sobbed as she left the kitchen to go find their robes.

Hermione rose from the table to follow Mrs. Weasley out of the kitchen. She wanted to get home before noon so that she could help her mother with cooking supper. "I'm going to go get my trunk and Crookshanks everybody," she said to the boys, Ginny, and Professor McGonagall as she left the kitchen. As she walked up the stairs to her room on the third floor she remembered that she wanted one more book from the library. She opened up the oak double doors and walked over to the bookshelf farthest from the door. She ran her finger across the spines looking for one in particular. She pulled out the small brown book from its resting place and flipped through the pages quickly. This book was unmarked on the outside, but on the inside cover the word _Unforgivables_ was written in blue ink.

_Flashback_

She began her research during her 4th year, after Crouch masquerading as Mad-Eye had taught the class about the Unforgivables. Once she saw the look on Neville's face when the Cruciatus curse was being performed right in front of him, she never forgot it. She knew that there was no way to reverse his parents' condition, but she was making something much greater.

The idea struck right before the OWLs. She had been in the library revising for six straight hours and her head was throbbing. As a muggleborn she felt that pain medications such as Aspirin were more effective for longer than the mild-pain potion given to students by Madame Pomfrey. She took the small bottle out of her bag, poured out two of the little white pills and swallowed them. No more than twenty minutes later, when she could think clearly again, it hit her. Aspirin, specifically the chemical that is used to make Aspirin, comes from Willow Tree Bark.

If she were to use the Whomping Willow as a base for her Cruciatus Regenerative Potion, then maybe the magical properties would be the key in making the potion work against the curse's side effects. She had asked Professor Sprout the next day, and had been told that the magical properties of the Whomping Willow were guarded by its own magic. Hermione was forced to create her own hybrid Whomping Willows for her potion. For the next two years she had been growing Bonsai Hybrid Whomping Willows and trying to perfect it.

_End Flashback_

She closed the book and continued up the stairs to get dressed and pack up everything she would need for the week home. She striped down to her knickers and bra then pulled out a dark blue pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt from her trunk. She threw them on and put up her hair into a messy bun. She then applied a touch of lip gloss and some mascara while looking into the vanity mirror.

When she deemed herself acceptable she called for Crookshanks who came strolling in with a decidedly unimpressed look on his pug-like face. She walked over to the cat carrier, opening up the small door so that he could walk into it. He looked at her like she had just said that she was tired of cats and was transfiguring him into a toad.

She sighed in frustration, "Come on Crooks, I don't have all day. Besides you know what the food is like when my mother is around." That appeared to appease him enough so he walked to the back of the crate to lie down in the corner. She closed the crate, and stood up with him in hand. She cast a shrinking charm on her packed trunk and grabbed the now tissue box sized piece of luggage. She walked down stairs to find her friends waiting for her to say goodbye.

"I'll miss you guys," Hermione said as she hugged Ginny, Ron, and Harry. "Try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone," she requested as she walked onto the front stoop and prepared to apparate. She glanced one last time behind her as the door closed and the house disappeared into the other houses.

She imagined her mother's vegetable garden and disappeared with a _Crack_. Unfortunately her mother forgot to mention that she had extended her garden to incorporate tomatoes. Therefore when her mother looked up to see what the resounding _Crack _was she gave a disapproving look at her daughter. Hermione smiled sheepishly at her mother then carefully stepped over the delicate plants to exit the garden. He mother stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans while she walked over to Hermione.

They embraced tightly, "It's so good to see you Mum, and how have you been?"

"It's been pretty busy here since we expanded the dentist office to the second location, but we manage," Helen answered in return while taking her daughter's free hand and leading her into the house. "Your father usually has to work late, and doesn't get home till around seven o'clock. How have you been?" she added while glancing at her watch.

"I've been fine, nothing very exciting," Hermione answered.

Her mother stepped into the kitchen and started to make tea. She then pulled out a tin of biscuits from the cupboard; Hermione noticed they were the fancy biscuits her mother kept for special occasions.

She set Crookshanks' carrier on the ground and opened the little door. He stepped out looking annoyed, but when he noticed Hermione's mother he leaped onto the kitchen counter and meowed happily at her. Helen looked down and smiled at the ginger colored cat. After handing the biscuits to Hermione she walked to the fridge and pulled out some cream and a tin of sardines. Crookshanks purred in anticipation and followed her to where she was putting them both in dishes for him. As she two dishes on the floor the teapot announced it was ready and Hermione levitated it to the kitchen table. Helen grabbed the sugar and cream and joined her daughter.

As Helen was about to turn around and grab the teacups Hermione said, "Don't worry about it, _Accio_," and two cups and saucers flew from the cupboard and landed on the table. Helen just shook her head and smiled.

"You really have a spell for everything don't you dear," she asked as she poured the tea.

"Not everything, but quite a few."

"So tell me about what you have been up to since summer started," Helen said as she picked up a biscuit and dipped it into her tea.

Hermione thought for a moment, "Do you remember the potion that I told you about in the letters I sent you?" she asked.

Helen nodded in response, "You said that it was a pain relieving potion, right?"

Hermione knew it wasn't safe to put vital information in a letter to her parents during these dark times, but she had skimmed over the general aspects of the potion. To them it would seem like a potion that acted as morphine did. If the enemy got hold of the knowledge that she was working on a Cruciatus relieving potion she would become a high value target more than she already was.

"I've just been trying to find resources that will help me finish the potion, my calculations keep telling me that there is one more ingredient that I need, but I can't seem to figure out what it is," she explained with a touch of frustration in her voice.

Helen smiled at her daughter, "You've always been one to work hard and never give up my dear. I don't expect you to change your ways now," she said finishing her tea and rising from the chair. "Now would you like to help me cook supper, or would you rather unpack your belongings?" she asked.

Hermione cast a spell to make the cups and saucers go to the sink and wash themselves, "I'll help you cook, I can unpack later I don't have very many things with me anyway," she answered sending her tiny trunk upstairs to her bedroom. "What are we making?"

Helen opened the fridge and pulled out a package of fresh ground lamb, "Your favorite of course, Shepard's Pie with extra ground lamb." she said handing the package to Hermione.

Hermione took out a large bowl and put the meat into it. She then went over to the spice rack and pulled out the spices she knew she would need. Her mother handed her a measuring spoon, and the onion that she would need. Ever since Hermione had come home a few summers ago and chopped an onion with a spell, she never used the muggle way when she could. Helen placed a pan on the gas stove and put some olive oil on the bottom. After that she got out a large pot and filled in with water. Hermione cast a heating charm over it, and it started to boil.

Helen dropped the small potatoes into the boiling water, and began chopping the carrots and celery on a wood cutting board. Hermione added the spices to the ground lamb and placed it into the now hot pan to cook. Helen turned on the radio in the kitchen to an oldies radio station, and pretty soon the house was filled with bandstand music and the smells of a homemade meal. As they were putting everything together in the casserole dish to put in the oven John Granger walked through the front door.

Walking into the kitchen he smiled at the scene before him, "There's only one thing that the smell of Shepard's Pie means, Hermione's home!" he exclaimed happily. Hermione ran over to her father and was picked up off the ground in a huge bear hug, "How is my book worm?"

She rolled her eyes, "Am I always going to have that silly nickname?" she asked him as he gave a kiss to his wife as she was setting a timer for the oven.

He smiled at Hermione, "As long as you're my daughter I get to call you whatever silly nickname I like don't I?" he asked playfully.

Hermione just laughed and shook her head good-naturedly. "Well, I'm going to go unpack my stuff and hop into the shower before dinner," she said walking out of the kitchen and heading for the stairs.

"It should be ready in about half an hour Hermione," her mother called after her. "Okay," she answered back.

Hermione walked into her room and sat down on the periwinkle comforter. Her room hadn't changed since she was eleven. She had found no reason to redecorate when she spent most of her time at Hogwarts, the Burrow, and now Grimmauld Place. The walls were a pastel yellow color, and the furniture was made of maple. The sheets, blanket, and curtains were all the periwinkle color, and the carpet was purple. Her parents had asked her if she had wanted a bigger bed at least, but she had told them that she could make it bigger with magic if she needed to.

She opened her trunk and started to unshrink everything she would need. After her books and clothes were put away she took off her clothes, threw on her dressing gown, and headed to the bathroom across the hall.

She turned on the water and waited for it to heat up. When it was warm enough she stepped out of her dressing robe and into the stream of water. She washed her hair and body quickly and stepped out into the steamy bathroom. She wrapped a towel around herself and walked back into her room. She put her knickers and bra on and chose a light green summer dress with white sandals from her dresser. Her damp hair was left to flow down back in large curls.

She walked down stairs and saw that her mother had set the table out by the garden instead of the kitchen. Her father was outside enjoying the sunset and sipping on some red wine as she came out and joined him. "You look beautiful my Mia," she said smiling at her. "You definitely grew up fast, just yesterday you were my little book worm and now look at you," he said while pouring her some red wine into a glass. Helen walked out with the casserole dish in her hands and set it on the table.

Helen smiled at Hermione, "You father's right, you seemed to have grown so fast. It's like you age so much more quickly when you are at school."

She had never mentioned the use of the time tuner during her third year. She had done the math during her fourth year. She figured that if she had used it for class time, studying for classes, and studying for her potion then she was about a year and eight months older than her birth certificate said. If her birthday was September 19th 1979, and she was twelve when she entered Hogwarts, she would have been eighteen in the beginning of next school year. By adding on the year and eight months it made her nineteen and five months old now. Her unofficial birthday was in May. She had never told her parents for fear of them becoming angry at her, she saw no harm in it, but they did notice the fact that she seemed to be more mature every time they saw her.

"You know how it is when you don't see someone for a while, they just grow, and you try to keep up with it," Hermione explained trying to be convincing. "Remember when Sophie was born, every time we went to see Aunt Kara it seemed she had grown another year in no time," she continued smiling at the memory. Her parents both nodded in understanding at the fond memories they had going to France to see their relatives.

Hermione finisher her glass of wine before rising to go back inside, "I am going to go work on my potion and then go to bed." she said. "Good night book work," her father said kissing her on the cheek. "Sleep well honey," her mother added kissing her on the cheek as well.

Hermione headed back into the house, but did not go straight to her room. She turned into the center of the house, the living room. She could access her wards best here, and she needed to add a few more than she had found while at Grimmauld Place. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small vial with blood in it. The spell didn't require very much, but she didn't want her parents waking in to find their daughter cutting herself with a knife and casting a spell. She pulled out the cork and let a few drops spill onto the floor in front of her. "_Utor meus vita creo pupillus pupilla," _[2]she said as she cast her ward and the blood seeped into the floor, and she could feel the wards become stronger around her.

She cast a few spells more to test her wards, and when she found them satisfactory she headed upstairs to her bedroom. She toed off her sandals and stripped out of her dress. She slipped into her night clothes, and grabbed _Unforgivables _off her book shelf where the rest of her book had been paced. She then grabbed her potion notebook and a ballpoint pen. Some things in the muggle world were far more efficient, such as the quill vs. pen.

She skimmed the pages until she found the Cruciatus Curse and began to read while taking notes.

_ The Cruciatus Curse was invented during the early middle ages, by witches or wizards unknown. This curse was originally created for torture purposes, but is extremely effective in dueling. During its time of creation it was extremely popular and not regulated as an Unforgivable. The Cruciatus, Imperious, and Avada Kedavra Curses were not made "unforgivable" until 1717. This was shortly after the Wizard's Council was reformed into the Ministry of Magic, and tighter restrictions were placed on certain kinds of magic. These curses were deemed by the Ministry of Magic as dark magic, and use of any of these three would result in a life sentence inside wizarding prison. __To successfully perform this curse, the wizard or witch must possess a deep desire to cause the victim pain._

_ This curse directly attacks the victim's nervous system and causes the nerves to fire rapidly while under the curse. The nerve cells are often damaged beyond repair which leads to constant firing. The curse also uses an amplifying charm to heighten the pain experienced during the casting. This is why the caster must have an extreme desire to cause pain. The curse has many spelling parts and weaker wizards' spell is often lacking in strength or duration. _

_Side effects of this curse are subject to the situation's time and occurrence. Persons who had it cast on the for a short period of time, less than 30 seconds, usually have fatigue, headaches, and mild bursts of pain for short intervals of time. If the curse is held for 30 seconds to a full minute the symptoms added are shakes, cold sweat, and a deep-aching radiating pain from the following points on the body: Elbows, chest, Knees, Lower Back, Neck, Shoulders, and Thighs. Prolonged exposure to the curse will result in mental breakdowns, loss of memory, and becoming psychotic often to the point of death. _

_If the curse is cast less than one minute over many occurrences a tolerance can be built, but the side effects are not lost. The symptoms include but are not limited to a deep, gnawing, shooting, or burning pain and ranges from mild to severe. There can be difficulty remembering things and the person may have problems thinking clearly. There may be numbness and tingling in hands and feet, and in extreme cases some heart problems such as palpitations can occur. Migraine headaches are often prominent which leads to a lack of sleep, and a sad or depressed mood. These symptoms are not known fully as there have not been many test subjects. There is no cure for these symptoms, and they can last well after the last spell has been cast. There was one reported case where the wizard's symptoms lasted 34 years before he took his own life via poison._

Hermione's eyes stared to droop and she cast _Tempus_ and saw that it was 10:52 PM. She closed her notebook and put it on her side table. She then bookmarked the page she was on and set it beside her lamp. She reached up and turned off the light next to her. She tried to use magic with her electric lamps a few years ago, but she wound up with a shattered lamp instead. From that point on she never tried to use magic with electricity again. She closed her eyes and soon after her breathing evened out and she was asleep.

[2] _Utor meus vita creo pupillus pupilla_ translates literally to "Use my life to create wards"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Helen Granger headed up the stairs quietly with a loaded serving tray in her hands. Hermione had been back for five days and she wanted to surprise her daughter with an old tradition. Every Saturday when Hermione was younger she would bring up two cups of hot chocolate and a selection of things they could add to them. Next to the two steaming mugs were bowls of marshmallows, caramel, espresso, and cinnamon. They would lay in bed and catch up on what was going on in each of their lives while enjoying the sweet beverage.

Helen realized a few days prior just how long it had been since they'd had the chance to just talk with each other, and just how much she had missed their tradition. Ever since Hermione had embarked on the adventure that was Hogwarts they had drifted farther apart, and she was coming to the uncomfortable realization that she really didn't know her daughter as well as she would like...as well as she used to. During dinner the first night Helen was startled to see how much her baby had grown.

She balanced the tray on one hand and opened the door gently. Hermione was still snoring softly, completely oblivious to the tray being set down next to her and the curtains opening. The sun came shining into the room and slowly Hermione stirred from her peaceful slumber.

Helen sat on the bed next to her daughter, "Good morning sweetie," she spoke quietly smiling. She leaned down and kissed Hermione on the forehead.

"G'morning," Hermione said sleepily while she stretched, dislodging the ginger fur ball covering her feet. Hermione sat up and used her pillows as a backrest, allowing her mother to sit next to her in the same position. "What's going on, what time is it?" she asked looking at her mother.

"It's was about 9:30 that last I looked a few minutes ago," Helen said as she turned towards the tray, lifted it up and set it on her lap. She then picked up one of the cups and smiling, passed it to her daughter, "I was thinking about all the Saturday mornings we spent together when you were younger, and I wanted to bring back the tradition."

Hermione beamed at the surprise and picked up the espresso to pour into her drink, "I hadn't realized how much I missed this since I left for Hogwarts that first year," she said as she stirred her cocoa gently.

Helen laughed, "I remember when you used to make gross faces at me for putting espresso in my cocoa." She bumped shoulders with Hermione lightly as she reached for the espresso Hermione had set back down on the tray. She then took a teaspoon of cinnamon and added it to her cup. "So tell me what other things have been going on in your life besides your potion," she requested as Hermione took a sip of cocoa, shook her head at the drink and reached for the marshmallows.

"No matter how old I get it doesn't taste right without the marshmallows," she said, dropping a handful into her mug before taking another sip to test and smiling in contentment. "There really has been nothing new in my life, I spend most of my time studying or trying to perfect my potion," she added looking sheepish.

Helen rose a questioning eyebrow, "I am supposed to believe that you have never gone on a date, or kissed a boy? What about Ron, I thought you two were together?"

"Well…we _were_…but I realized that we could never be together. We're way too different to truly be compatible, and in the long run I see him more as a brother than a boyfriend."

"Okay then, who _do_ you have your eye on?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I don't really have time to keep my eyes anywhere but my potion and my future NEWTs. Besides, I'm only seventeen, I have plenty of time to search for a guy and fall in love."

"Well, you did always seemed more mature than everyone else your age; maybe when you go to college you will meet someone, hmmm?" Helen said as she raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"It's not like boys are beating down my door to date me. I think my intellect is a turnoff for most people my age, but maybe when I'm older I will find someone I can talk to. Maybe even chat about something that isn't Quidditch and the latest funny trick from Zonko's."

Helen frowned at her daughter, "You are beautiful Hermione, and if your intellect scares away the immature boys around you then they don't deserve you."

Helen set down her now empty cup on the tray. She then picked up a few marshmallows and popped them in her mouth. Hermione set her cup next to her mother's and sighed in contentment, "Well I think I'm gonna get dressed and sit in the garden to read, I need to do a little more research today. I know I'm close to the missing ingredient, I can feel it."

Helen chuckled and stood up holding the tray, "Just don't work too hard sweetie." She headed out of the room and walked downstairs.

Hermione jumped out of bed and took off her nightclothes; she then put on a pair of denim shorts and a black t-shirt. She slipped on a pair of flip-flops sitting next to her trainers and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and fix her hair. Walking back into her bedroom she turned towards her bookshelf. She scanned the book titles until she found_Potions and the Dark Ages_ and plucked it off the shelf. She recalled the night Professor Snape had told her to watch herself when it came to these types of books. She shrugged, _'It's only for the theory.'_ She grabbed her notebook from her nightstand and a ballpoint pen from the cup on her desk.

She headed out onto the back porch overlooking the garden and yard. Her parents had always had a white rocking chair out there since she was a little girl. It never looked like it was aging, but when she sat in it she heard the telling creak of its true age. She rocked back and forth slowly enjoying the warmth of the sun. She cracked open _Potions and the Dark Ages_and began to scan the table of contents for something that could help her. Crookshanks sauntered out into the sun, and seeing Hermione sitting in the chair he normally occupied, hoped up into her lap. She scratched his ears absentmindedly while opening up her notebook and writing the heading _Regeneration Potion_. She flipped to page 212 and began to read:

_The__regeneration potion__is a Dark Potion that restores a wizard whose body has become maimed and disfigured to their true and whole bodily form. This potion is extremely difficult to make and requires a cauldron that can fit the entire person, as it needs to be absorbed through the skin as well as consumed. The ingredients for the base of the potion are as follows:_

_3 cups of Basilisk Venom combined with 4 cups of Acromantula venom_

_16 Augurey feathers soaked in 20 cups of Toad Essence_

_6 cups of fresh Centaur blood_

_1 Chimera Egg with the shell_

_4 Crup tails_

_4 Chinese Fireball teeth ground into a fine powder_

_2 cups of Erumpent Blood mixed with 14 cups of Flobberworm mucus_

_1 Manticore Scorpion Tail_

_2 Nundu Paws that have been soaked in Phoenix Tears for 3 hours_

_18 cups of Re'em blood_

_3 drops of Unicorn Blood freely given_

_Each of these Ingredients must be added one at a time. After each addition the potion is stirred one time clockwise every 30 seconds. After the two minutes have elapsed the next ingredient can be added. Repeat the stirring process until all ingredients are added. Let the potion simmer for at least 23 hours before adding the next three ingredients._

_Note: The person that is being restored must be completely submerged in the base potion before the next ingredients are added._

_Bone of the father unknowingly given_

_Flesh of the servant willingly sacrificed_

_Blood of the enemy forcibly taken_

Hermione gasped in surprise and dropped her notebook and pen. Crookshanks leaped in the air landing not so gracefully on the ground. He glared up at her like she had just skimped on the cream in his dish.

She had no idea that this potion was the one that Voldemort had used to resurrect himself. Reading about this potion she was certain that one of the vital ingredients after the formation of the base was what she was looking for. Now she would have to try these in order to figure out which one, if any, was the missing ingredient she had been searching for. Hopefully the Bone of Father wouldn't be the missing link, because if it was she would have to start from scratch.

She picked up her notebook from the ground. "Sorry Crooks, but I think our trip home may be cut a little short."

He ignored her and headed back into the kitchen searching for the giver of kippers and cream. She shrugged and collected her things before heading back upstairs to pack her trunk. She placed everything neatly inside except for one book, _The Power of Wards: Circa 1534-1923_. She scrutinized the book one last time before making up her mind. She needed a special place in this house for her parents to stay in case of an attack. This place needed to be heavily warded, but easily accessible to her muggle parents. Hermione knew she couldn't protect her parents while she was away, and she needed to find the room to cast the wards in.

She thought for a moment and concluded that her parents' room was the perfect place. It was large enough to be comfortable for both of them if they needed to stay for a few days, and their bathroom was connected directly to it. She could place some provisions in one of the empty cabinets in the bathroom such as canned food and water. She nodded and walked out of her bedroom.

As she walked down the hall she glanced at the pictures on the wall that showed the different stages of the growth of their family. She smiled fondly at one where her father was playing airplane with her and spinning her around while her mother laughed and clapped in the back while sitting under one of the large trees. The one next to it was just her and her mother reading together on the couch in the living room. The title of the book could be seen if she looked closely, _Little Women_. She continued down the line of pictures stopping at the last. It was just a picture of her and her parents in the garden planting different seeds. They were all covered in dirt and sweaty, but smiling at the camera none the less.

Hermione stopped at her parents' door and knocked. There was no response so she turned the knob and entered. The room was painted in a warm grey, and the bedding, carpet, and curtains were a silver to match. The wood of the dresser and side tables was made of a dark cherry.

She remembered jumping into the bed when she was a little girl in the middle of the night to join them or in the morning to wake them up. Those were much simpler times, when being snugly nested in between her parents was all she had needed to feel safe from whatever might be out there. Now the responsibility of safeguarding the family fell on Hermione's shoulders. She turned away from the memory and closed the door behind her, casting a distracting ward on the door. She couldn't risk anybody interrupting her while she was setting the wards.

She had read the book on wards earlier and produced a few of the ingredients she would need for the resurrecting of these not so "light" wards. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the vials with various ingredients. Thistle, Dragon's Blood, Lemongrass, Motherwort, and Vervain were among the elements she placed on the floor.

She transfigured a piece of paper in her pocket into a small ceramic dish. Uncapping each vial she poured each of the ingredients into the bowl before adding her own blood from a fresh cut she made with a slicing hex to her finger. When enough blood was added she mended the cut with a quick spell leaving no trace of what had been. She stood up and opened the book to page forty-three, glancing at the title: _Protection of Homes and Family Members_. She skimmed down the page searching for the spell she was looking for and when she found it she pointed her wand at the bowl of ingredients.

"Cognatis et defendere domi custodia a pravis [3]," she spoke clearly while continuing to point her wand at the bowl of ingredients. The bowl's contents began to glow light blue and seep out of the bowl and travel outwards covering the floor, walls and ceilings. It crept through the open door into the bathroom and seeped into all of the windows' glass. Finally it stopped when the entire room shimmered with a light blue sheen. Then the windows and doors increased in brightness until it was so bright that Hermione had to shield her eyes. When they finally began to dim about two minutes later she cast a ward detection spell. Nodding in satisfaction she headed downstairs to into the kitchen to look for her mother.

Helen was in the garden pulling some weeds from under the tomato plants when Hermione found her. Walking over to her she bent down and started pulling weeds out as well, "I have something important I need to tell you, but I need to tell Dad too so I will wait until he comes home."

Helen paused in her work to glance at her daughter, concern showing on her face, "Is everything alright?"

Hermione smiled at her mother, "Once I explain it to you and Dad it will be alright," she answered trying to appear at ease.

When they were done pulling the weeds Helen walked over to the garden shed and brought over a wide mouthed wicker basket. She walked over to the tomatoes and pulled three ripe ones from the vines. She then proceeded to pick a zucchini, a yellow squash, a red bell pepper, and an eggplant. Hermione watched her mother trying to guess what she was using the ingredients for. Helen noticed Hermione watching her and saw the wheels turning in her head.

Helen chuckled, "C'mon you'll have to guess while we're cooking it," she said while turning to walk back towards the house. Hermione got up off her knees and brushed the dirt off her skin. She looked around at the garden wishing she had the green thumb her mother did.

Heading back into the house she noticed Crookshanks chasing a mouse across the yard before it escaped under the fence. Crookshanks hit the fence not looking where he was running while chasing the poor creature. He gave what could only be described as an annoyed scowl at the fence and sauntered back toward the house. Hermione just shook her head laughing and followed him inside to the kitchen where her mother was chopping up the tomatoes and throwing them into a pot on the stove.

Hermione took out a second wood chopping board from under the sink and a slicing knife from the cutlery block, "What do you want me to chop?"

"Slice everything else in small circles and place them in piles," Helen answered while she added some spice to the tomato puree in the pan. She let the tomatoes simmer and reached for a casserole dish and set it between her and Hermione. Hermione had to admit that sometimes it was nice to do these things without magic every now and again.

Hermione walked over to the radio and turned it on, _I don't want to set the world on fire by Ink spots,_ was playing softly in the background. She turned back to chopping the vegetables while her mother covered the bottom of the casserole dish with her tomato puree.

When Helen was done with the puree she set garlic cloves in the dish and turned to grab an onion off the counter, "Hey sweetie," she called getting Hermione's attention. Hermione turned towards her mother after putting down the knife, and smiled at the onion in her mother's hand. Magic certainly had its perks though, especially when it came to multitasking. Helen tossed her the onion and Hermione cast the chopping spell on it and turned back to her slicing. When she was done slicing her vegetables she collected the chopped onion and handed it to her mother in a dish, who in turn added it to the puree in the dish.

Hermione's face grew in understanding, "Ratatouille?"

"You got it sweetie," Helen confirmed as she stacked the sliced vegetables in a pattern around the dish making a rainbow colored pattern inside. When she was done she placed it in the oven to bake.

"I'm gonna go take a shower before dinner Mum, I still have dirt on my legs from the weeding," Hermione called to her mother as she left to the kitchen and headed for the stairs.

"Okay, sweetie, it'll be done in a half hour," she called back.

Hermione stepped into the bathroom and turned the water to hot. After stepping out of her clothes and into the steamy spray she washed her body and hair and got back out. She reached for her wand and cast a quick drying spell over her body making sure to not get her hair. She wrapped a lavender colored towel around herself, grabbed her dirty clothes and walked across the hall to her room. She put on her underwear and picked out a pink skirt from her trunk. She then picked a white lace top that went with the skirt and her sandals from the first night. She looked around making sure everything she needed was packed before going downstairs.

She was greeted by her father when she walked into the kitchen with a bear hug and a kiss on the top of her head. They all sat at the kitchen table where Helen had set plates, cups, and silverware. She placed the steaming dish of Ratatouille in the middle and sat down.

"Now Hermione, you said you wanted to tell me and your father something important?" Helen prompted.

"Oh…yes I did…well you see…," she began trying to figure out the best way to tell them that they were in serious danger because of her, "Earlier today I cast a protective spell on your bedroom and bathroom," she continued.

"What was the reason for the spell book worm," John asked with curiosity in his voice.

"Well, you see, there are a group of men that really don't like my friend Harry. In order to get to him, they may try and use me because I'm one of his best friends. The protective spells are called Wards, and they won't let anyone into that room that I have not approved. I have also cast them on the house, but they are much weaker than those on your bedroom and bathroom," she explained before taking a bite of Ratatouille.

"What exactly do you mean by 'don't like' sweetie?" Helen asked.

"Well...these people want to kill Harry. They are called Death Easters. Remember when I told you about them after my fourth year?" Hermione asked.

John looked thoughtful for a moment, "Are they the ones of follow Voleywort?"

Hermione tried to stifle her giggle at the butchered name, "Voldemort," she corrected, "and yes they believe that the only person that can kill Voldemort is Harry. I have created the wards to protect you when I am not here. The household wards will alert you with a high pitched wail when someone has entered the wards that are a threat to you. I want you to go into your bedroom as soon as you hear that sound and shut the door. That will seal it, and nobody can break through those wards in the amount of time they would need before help arrived."

"If they are trying to kill Harry why would they come after us?" John asked looking confused.

Hermione took a deep breath, she hadn't wanted to tell her parents everything but it seemed she had no choice. "I'm what people in the magical world call 'Muggle-born'... that means that both of my parents are non-magical. Some people in our world believe that Muggle-borns should not be a part of it, and Voldemort and his followers are the biggest supporters. They do not have a problem killing me or my friends for what they believe, and that's why I have to protect you. They have been attacking Muggle-born homes more frequently and I need to be sure that you two are safe."

"Well wait a minute, you can't go back there when there are people trying to kill you!" John yelled in horror.

"Dad, I'm sorry, but if I stay here then I can't help my friends and the others defeat Voldemort. I need to go back, it's not an option," she explained calmly with a touch of sadness in her voice. "I just want you two to promise me that when you hear the wards alert you to intruders you will go upstairs into your room, and stay there until I or someone you know comes for you," she pleaded.

"What if you're not back for days, what are we supposed to do then?" Helen asked worriedly.

"I have set provisions under the bathroom sink for you and Dad. There is enough there for a three weeks' time, and that is about twenty days more than you would ever need in a situation like this. When the wards are set off in the house I am informed immediately via this coin," she explained as she pulled out a Galleon from her pocket, "it grows increasingly warm until I deactivate the spell."

"If there are people in the house that intend to kill you I don't think you should come alone," John argued.

Hermione smiled at him reassuringly, "Don't worry Dad. I won't come here alone I will have at least twenty law enforcement people and another dozen friends right beside me."

"What is the likelihood of this really happening?" Helen asked.

"I'm not sure, but enough where I need to take the precaution none the less."

Her parents nodded in comprehension, but understandably did not look thrilled at the prospect of a home invasion even having a remote chance of occurring.

When they finished the Ratatouille, Hermione sent the dishes to the sink to clean themselves. Her mother got up to get tea for the three of them, but when she took out the third cup Hermione interrupted, "No tea for me Mum, I forgot to tell you, but I believe I figured out what the last ingredient of my potion is. I wanted to head back to Grimmauld Place a day early so I could get in contact with the Headmaster. I need to use one of the Hogwarts potion labs for my experiments because Grimmauld Place doesn't have any. He's supposed to come in the morning and I want to be there to ask," she explained.

Helen frowned, but then smiled reassuringly at her daughter, "It's okay sweetie, I know how important it is to you. Besides you still have a couple of weeks until school starts and you can visit is then right?"

Hermione beamed, "Absolutely, I will make sure to come back and spend a few days here." She walked over to her mother and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. Her father came up behind her and gave her a bear hug that lifted her off her feet Once she was back on the floor again she turned around and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll miss you guys, and I love you both."

She called for Crookshanks as she headed upstairs to collect her trunk. He came into her bedroom as she was putting her shrunken luggage in her pocket. She picked him up and put him in his carrier forgoing giving him the option of saying no. She picked him up and walked downstairs.

She saw her parents were discussing what she had told them over a cup of tea. "I'll write at least twice a week," she promised as she headed towards the backyard to apparate.

"We love you book worm," John called after her.

"I love you both too."

She turned to look at the night sky above her. Smiling she pictured Grimmauld Place in her mind and with a loud _Crack_ she was gone.

[3] "Cognatis et defendere domi custodia a pravis" translates to "Defend my kin and Guard my home from all evil"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

Hermione appeared on the sidewalk in front of Grimmauld Place and the resounding _Crack_ did nothing to calm down the already unhappy feline she was carrying. The street was becoming increasingly dark and the streetlamp next to her was flashing on and off. She walked up to building and looked for where the door of the Order headquarters should have been. _'Number 12, Grimmauld Place'_ she thought to herself and stepped back a fraction as the houses divided to reveal the front door.

She climbed up the stoop and opened the creaky door as silently as she could manage. Despite her efforts Crookshanks was still in a bad mood so when she closed it behind her he started to yowl and hiss in protest of being locked in a cage.

Mrs. Black portrait burst out screaming from behind her curtain, "Filthy mudbloods bring their repulsive lives into my home!" she bellowed. Hermione could hear someone running down the stairs as she tried to pull the curtain closed to no avail. Sirius turned the corner and helped her pull the fabric shut; effectively stopping the rant that Mrs. Black had started about pure blood supremacy.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks Sirius, I didn't mean to wake her but Crooks here had other plans," she said as she bent down to let Crookshanks out of the carrier. He darted into the kitchen as soon as the door was open and didn't give a backwards glance to Hermione. She just looked after her familiar and shook her head.

Sirius looked down at Hermione with a frown, "It's no problem kitten, but I thought you were coming back tomorrow. Is everything alright?" he asked.

She gave him a reassuring smile, "Yea everything is fine…I wanted to come back tonight because I need to speak with the Headmaster, is he here?" she asked him trying to get a view of the kitchen from where she was standing in the hall.

"No he left about an hour ago, but he said he'd be back in the morning, is there anything I can do to help?" he prodded.

Hermione thought for a moment before responding, "Actually the books that you allowed me to take with me gave me a few clues as to what the last ingredient for my potion might be." She had told nobody of the type of potion she was making. She knew in this world that the walls literally had ears, and that if she didn't want to have her potion getting out into the open, the best policy was to never let it out in the first place.

Sirius smiled, "I'm glad I could do something to help you, but what is the potion anyway?" he asked while they walked into the kitchen. Ginny was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea next to her and a book propped up so she could read it.

"I didn't tell you the first sixteen times you asked Sirius, is seventeen your lucky number?" she inquired playfully as she walked over to the stove to pour herself a cup of tea. "Tea?" she asked Sirius as he looked at her inquiringly.

"No thank you kitten, I just finished a cup a few minutes ago. I was in the library looking for a book, but for the life of me I can't seem to find it," he explained with a touch of frustration creeping into his voice.

Hermione looked guilty for a moment, but it left as quickly as it had come, "What's the title?"

"The Power of Wards something I believe."

"Hmmm," she said thinking for a moment, "Well I haven't seen it, but if I do I'll let you know," she said sitting down next to Ginny and adding sugar and milk to her tea. She really didn't fancy the idea of having to explain that she had taken a book on Dark Wards out of the library for personal use.

"Okay kitten, see you later" Sirius said before departing from the kitchen and heading back upstairs to the library.

"You know that I can tell when you lying, your body becomes slightly more rigid," Ginny said as she closed her book and turned towards Hermione to look at her with a interrogative expression on her face.

Hermione smiled sheepishly at her friend, "Nothing gets by you Gin, does it?" she asked lightheartedly. "What were you reading, anything I would like?" she asked reaching for her book to read the cover.

"I can also tell when you're trying to change the subject, remember I am the youngest and have six brothers. I tend to pick up very swiftly on who is hiding things."

"Fine, but don't tell anyone, okay?" she asked looking around. "Where are Ron and Harry?"

"They're upstairs past out like rocks; they had a huge Quidditch game earlier this afternoon, and I thought you knew you could trust my Hermione?"

"I do know, but it's the house I don't trust." Ginny nodded in understanding looking around behind her. "I warded my family's home last night and I didn't use the most approved methods, but I needed the book that Sirius was looking for in order to do it."

"Hermione, I don't think anyone will blame you for wanting to protect your family, least of all me. I get so frustrated that I'm not allowed in the Order. Why is it they are all allowed to protect me, but I'm not allowed to protect them? Do they think that if I lose my entire family to this war it will be okay with me? Do they think that because I was safe it would make it okay?" she ranted. It seemed that Ginny had been holding back a lot of feelings when it came to this, and Hermione could relate.

She thought about what she would do if she was unable to take part in protecting her family. She would definitely be feeling helpless and angry at whoever was stopping her, that's for sure.

She gave her friend a sympathetic smile and a brief hug when she had taken a breath, "I completely understand Ginny, but the only way that I could do it myself was to not tell anyone. I'm not saying to go completely insane and start going after Deatheaters yourself, but maybe read up on some medical charms and spells. You never know when they will come in handy. Just because you can't be there in the middle doesn't mean that you have to sit and do nothing on the sidelines."

Ginny seemed to visibly brighten at this and grinned at her friend, "Do you think you could help my Hermione?"

Hermione stood up from the table and banished her tea cup to the sink, "C'mon let's go up to the library and we can see if there are any books that will help us."

They both headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the second floor. When they reached the double doors they noticed that a silencing charm had been cast on it. Hermione looked at Ginny in question, and in turn Ginny reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of extendable ears. They cast a concealment charm on the device and themselves, slipped it under the door, and stood in the shadowy corner next to the oak doors.

"Dammit Remus, without that book how the hell are we supposed to go about using wards to protect her home," Sirius argued his voice sounding exasperated. "You know that it's only a matter of time, and I'll be damned if you think I'm just gonna sit here and do nothing about it."

"I know Sirius, I know...do you not think that I'm just as worried as you are, but without that damn book there is hardly anything we can do. Besides do you really think it's wise to use _blood_ wards?"

"Do you think Voldemort cares what types of bloody wards were using? I think that if he is willing to go around casting Avada Kedavra on every person he deems not fit to live, then we can use a little blood to erect a ward!" Sirius barked.

"Please stop shouting Sirius someone is going to hear you," Remus sighed and started walking towards the door. "Don't worry Sirius, we'll figure something out."

"I just hope it's not too late when we do," Sirius said as he sighed sounding defeated.

Hermione cast a stronger concealment charm on herself and Ginny before the door swung open. They could see Remus stop in front of them and sniff the air. _'Shit, he can smell us, damn werewolf senses,'_ Hermione thought to herself while trying not to breathe. After about five seconds Remus moved to the stairs and walked to the third floor. When they could no longer hear him Hermione removed the concealment charms and Ginny put the extendable ears back in her pocket.

"Listen Gin, can we do this tomorrow, I need to talk to Sirius alone?" she asked looking towards the library.

Ginny nodded, "Yea that's fine, I'll be outside on my broom if you need me," she said as she headed downstairs to the garden. Hermione gave her an odd look and looked out the window next to her, "Ginny its dark outside."

Ginny looked out the window as well and sighed, "I guess I'll just go to bed then," she said sounding defeated and trudging her way up the stairs.

Hermione stepped in to entranceway and knocked on the door alerting Sirius to her arrival, "Mind if I come in?"

Sirius smiled and waved her inside to join him on the couch, "How are you kitten?"

"I'm fine, but you don't look fine, what's wrong?" she prompted as she sat down on the couch.

"I still can't find that wards book I was looking for and it's really important that I do," he said before resting he elbows on his knees and his putting his face in his hands. Hermione took out the shrunken book from her pocket placed it on the table in front of them and cast an enlargement spell on it, "You mean that book?" she said while point to it as if it had been there the entire time.

Sirius just looked at her in confusion, "Why didn't you tell me you had it when I asked?"

Hermione took a deep breath and opened her mouth to explain, but instead said, "Tell me who the 'her' in your conversation with Remus is, and I'll tell you."

Sirius chuckled, "I knew that I shouldn't trust the walls in this house like I do."

"You were shouting," Hermione pointed out smiling at him.

"You were using extendable ears," he said mimicking her tone making her laugh.

"If you must know, we were talking about you kitten," he explained while reaching for the book on the table and bringing it to rest on his lap. He noticed the small piece of paper sticking out of one of the pages and opened the book to see what it was. The scrap piece of paper was holding the page titled _Protection of Homes and Family Members. _He frowned and held up the book for Hermione to see. "I believe you have some explaining to do kitten…what haven't you told us?"

Hermione sighed and got up from the couch. She was at the oak doors when Sirius' voice stopped her, "Kitten, I'm serious, what's going on?" his voice rising a little. She turned around and put up one finger to indicate she needed a minute. She opened the double doors, "Remus!" she called up the stairs to where she knew he was.

She heard his footsteps heading towards the sound of her voice. They sounded quick and slightly panicked, "What's the matter Hermione, is someone hurt? Has there been an attack?" he asked concern lacing his voice.

Hermione shook her head, "No, but I need to talk to you and Sirius about the wards for muggleborn households." She walked back into the library with Remus close on her tail. She closed the double oak door and cast various protection and privacy charms on them. After about eight protective spells she turned around to join the men who were staring curiously at her.

"Trust me, that amount of spells in needed if we don't want prying ears," she said as she sat down in the armchair closest to the fire and turned to face them, a knowing smirk on her face.

Remus looked confused and turned to Sirius, "What's going on?"

"You know as much as I do, tell us Hermione," Sirius said his voice stern.

Hermione gestured for Sirius to hand her the book, and when it was in her lap she spoke, "This _cannot _leave this room. You must promise me to tell nobody, not Dumbledore, and especially not Moody."

They both looked at each other as if silently talking to themselves. After a moment they turned back to her, "Kitten, if you're in danger we can't promise we won't tell anyone."

Remus nodded in agreement, "If it's something that you feel is important enough to keep secret from everyone then don't tell us," he said with a trusting voice. Sirius looked at him and glared daggers, "No Remus, she needs to tell us. What if she's hurt herself in some way?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I haven't hurt myself, nor do I plan to. Actually, quite the opposite, I needed this book to erect a series of wards on my home. I know that I am top of the list muggleborn, and it won't be much longer before that affects me and my family. I needed the incantation from the book in order to make a safe house out of my parents' bedroom."

Remus looked confused for a moment, "Why didn't you tell us that you needed it to erect wards for your family? We would have helped you."

"Because she used blood magic to make them," Sirius said darkly. Remus turned to look at him surprised by his friend's tone of voice, "C'mon now Sirius, you would have done the same thing she did to protect the people you love."

"I know that Remus, why do you think I needed that damn book!" Sirius shouted as he stood up from the couch and started pacing in front of the fire.

"Why are you getting so upset Sirius? Calm down," Remus said sternly.

"Why am I so upset? I'm upset because in order to erect those wards Hermione needed to use blood, and not just any blood," he said looking at her knowingly.

Hermione rose from her chair, "You know that it was necessary, you can't blame me for this! The wards wouldn't be half as strong if any other person cast them, and you know that! You read the damn book. It is my family, and my house!" she shouted at Sirius who was now looking at her with disappointment in his eyes.

Remus rose from his spot on the couch as well, "Hermione we completely understand your need to do this by yourself," he said turning towards Sirius, "Right Sirius?"

"I let this happen," Sirius whispered turning away from the group and staring into the fire.

"I did this Sirius not you," Hermione said softly, his disappointment deflating her temper immediately.

"No, you don't understand," Sirius started softly, "When a person uses blood magic…dark magic…their soul becomes tainted with it. The human soul craves darkness, and once it gets a taste of it…it's hard to get rid of the…discoloration."

"It's two wards Sirius, do you think I didn't read into it before I erected them?" she asked sounding annoyed.

"Two?" he asked with an eyebrow raised in question.

"Yea, one on my parents' bedroom as a sort of safe room, and the other on the house itself to alert me and them if anyone comes in that isn't approved."

"That's it? That was all of them?"

"Yes Sirius, I promise," she said sitting back down on the couch and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

The day's events were catching up to her quickly and she was beginning to notice just how tired she was. Remus noticed to, "Why don't you go to bed Hermione? You look exhausted."

Hermione stood up once again, "Your right Remus," she said as she headed towards the door. She was just closing the door behind her when she turned around, "I'm sorry I lied to you Sirius, but it was necessary," she closed the double doors and headed upstairs to her bedroom.

Ginny was still up with a light on reading one of her books when Hermione entered. She gave a brief smile when she saw Hermione and went back to reading.

"Sorry about that Gin, I needed to give him his book back and explain why I had it in the first place," she explained while taking out her trunk from her pocket and restoring it to its normal size. She took off her clothing and searched in her trunk for night clothes. She slipped them on and quietly got under the soft blankets of her bed.

She was not as quick to fall asleep this night as she had been at her parent's home, but after about an hour of lying on her side thinking about her conversation with Remus and Sirius her eyelids finally closed and she fell asleep.

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><p>Sorry about the short chapter, but this seemed like a good place to end it.<p>

Reviews are appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone! Here is chapter 5 I hope you enjoy it. I am going to North Carolina in five days, and I won't be able to get chapters in during that 2 week trip. I might be able to get chapter 6 in though, so look for that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

Hermione and Ginny were at the kitchen table eating their breakfast of tea, eggs, and toast when the floo activated and Dumbledore stepped through. He was wearing canary yellow robes with purple stars, and he looked like he had just been given a lifetime supply of lemon drops from Honeyduke's.

Mrs. Weasley looked up from the stove where she was cooking some bacon, "Good Morning Albus, would you like a cup of tea," she asked as she headed over to the cupboard to grab the china.

Dumbledore smiled brightly at her, "A cup of tea would be lovely Molly, thank you," he said brightly as he turned to the girls sitting at the table next to him. "How are you two this morning?" he asked.

The both gave him a smile, and Hermione spoke, "Headmaster, if it's alright, I need to speak with you privately sometime after breakfast, if that's okay with you?"

He accepted the cup of tea from Molly and sat down at the head of the table, "Of course, of course, I just need to speak to Remus and Sirius first if that is alright with you?" he requested.

Hermione nodded at him, as her mouth was filled with eggs and she didn't want to show him the half processed food in her mouth.

He turned to Molly, "Have you seen them this morning Molly?"

"I believe they're still in the library even though I told them breakfast was ready," she answered huffing that her fresh cooked eggs now needed a warming spell. Dumbledore chuckled, "I will inform them of your dilemma," he told her rising from his chair and heading out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

They could hear a people coming down the stairs and a quick conversation occurring outside of the kitchen. After a few seconds Ron and Harry entered looking disheveled with sleep. "Good morning everyone," Harry said as he sat down next to Ginny and accepted a plate from Mrs. Weasley. Ron sat on next to Hermione, and once he got his plate he started to pile more eggs than Hagrid could ever eat on it, without ever saying a word of greeting. They all ate, and after a while Ron became much livelier, it was as if the food in his stomach was giving him meaning to live and interact with the world around him.

He turned towards Hermione, his mouth still full of food, "Haw waf your paret howss, wha time dif oo," he said before Molly glared at him and he finished swallowing his mouthful of eggs, "get back this morning? I thought you weren't coming back until this evening," he finished.

She swallowed the toast in her mouth, "I needed to speak with the Headmaster this morning, so I came back last night. I would have told you, but Gin to me you guys were passed out cold after a Quidditch session," she explained as she gestured towards Ginny.

Harry nodded in response, "Yea, it was great. Ron finally got the Wroński Feint down," he said as Ron smiled proudly at himself. Ginny smiled, "That's brilliant Ron, maybe you and Harry could teach me sometime?" she asked hopefully looking between her brother and Harry.

Just at that moment the floo activated again and Tonks stepped into the kitchen wearing a smile on her face. "Did you guys hear? The ministry approved Albus' preposition for muggleborn home warding!" she shouted excitedly while looking a Hermione for her reaction, but she wasn't greeted with the smile that she expected.

"Approved?" she asked quietly. At Tonks' nod she stood up from the table and made a hasty exit from the kitchen. "Wha-," Tonks started to say, but she was already sprinting upstairs to the oak library doors which were open. She stopped short when she could see Sirius taking to Dumbledore, but his back was turned and Dumbledore gave her a knowing look over Sirius' shoulder. She walked unobtrusively into the library and sat down next to Remus, still out of sight of Sirius.

"I don't know what she was thinking doing it on her own, but I guess what's done is done." Sirius finished lamely. As if sensing her glaring daggers into his back, he turned around. His eyes grew wide at her frosty look, "How'd you know I was telling him?" he asked confused.

"I didn't," she said coldly.

"Hermione, listen I just wan-," he started to say, but was interrupted by Dumbledore. "I wish to speak to Miss Granger alone if you gentleman don't mind," he said gesturing them to leave the library.

Remus nodded and stood up, and when Sirius started to object Remus grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him out. Hermione stood up to close the oak doors behind them. Once closed she cast the protective charms on them and joined Dumbledore by the fire. Neither of them said anything for a few moments, both waiting for the other to start. Finally after a deep breath Hermione explained, "Sir, I can understand if you are upset by this, but I couldn't risk the chance of my family being in danger. I wanted them to be protected as soon as possible, and with the Ministry's records for getting stuff done…I couldn't take the chance to wait. It was only two wards anyway, and the one on the house is just an alert ward. Please try and put yourself in my shoes, I felt it was the best way and I meant no harm by it," she finished and looked up to Dumbledore who was facing away from her looking into the fire.

When Dumbledore turned around Hermione's jaw almost dropped, he was smiling. "Miss Granger, I am not upset at you for what you did, but I do wish you had told me before you did it. I would have liked to help you. I understand that you are a prime target, and I applaud you efforts to keep your family safe," he said as he sat down across from her in the wingback chair with the twinkle back in his eyes.

"You're not upset?" she asked in a small voice. "No Miss Granger I am quite the opposite. I am proud of you and your willingness to protect the ones you love," he answered while pulling out a tin of lemon drops and offering her one. She declined and he popped on in his mouth, "I do believe you wanted to speak to me about something important though?" he inquired.

"Oh…yes…I do," she started lamely. "Sir I need to borrow one of the Hogwarts potion labs if that is okay with you," she asked while fidgeting in her seat a little.

He raised an eyebrow in question, "May I inquire as to why you need the use of a potion's lab?" he questioned nonchalantly. Hermione stayed quiet for a moment considering the option of telling him that he couldn't ask why, but decided against it, "I am making a specialized pain relieving potion and require a lab to do a little testing on it before it's complete."

He smiled, "Well, that sounds like a wonderful endeavor. Is there anything else you want to tell me?" he asked with a knowing tone in his voice.

Hermione smiled at him and shook her head a little, "No Sir, but when the potion is complete I hope for it to become a weapon against painful curses and the like," she indicated.

"Well, it sounds like a very promising potion indeed, and if anyone earns use of one of the potions lab, I believe the head girl earns that right. I never congratulated you properly, and wanted to wish you the best of luck next year. I saw your schedule, nine NEWTs Miss Granger that's quite a task, but I think you can handle it," he said with pride in his voice, "You are a Gryffindor after all."

"Thank you Sir," she said, her face flushing from the praise. Dumbledore stood up from his chair and started to head towards the library door to make his leave, but stopped before he took the spells off, "Did you want to go to Hogwarts now?" he inquired. She hesitated for a moment, "Not right now Sir, but perhaps sometime tomorrow. I promised Ginny I would help her with a few things today," she explained. He nodded and lifted the spells, turning the knob he opened the door and was gone.

She sat there for quite some time, just staring into the fire and thinking about her potion. '_Would Dumbledore react the same way if he knew what sort of experiments she really need to perform?_' He seemed to not mind that she had used blood wards to protect her family, it was just the fact that she didn't tell him. Maybe if she was completely honest with him, then it wouldn't be an issue using an ingredient from a dark potion. Besides it wasn't like she was going to some stranger, cutting of their arm, and using it to stir her potion.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Sirius reenter the library. She felt him sit beside her on the couch and looked up to see a guilty expression on his face. She wasn't mad at him, but she did want to have just a little fun.

The look on her face was expressionless, and he took that to mean the worse, "Kitten…," he started softly looking around as if the answer to his dilemma was in the room next to him. "Please don't be mad at me, when Albus told me that the wards had been approved he started talking about warding your house. I had to tell him, I couldn't just let him go to your house and start throwing up Ministry wards, could I?" he asked pleadingly.

"You don't think he would have come to me first?" she asked.

"Well…yea he would have…but it was kind of a spur the moment thing…I'm really sorry Kitten…it was stupid of me to tell him," he said as he stood up to leave. She couldn't let him leave in this state so she stood up and link her arm around his. He looked down at her confused and slightly wary, as if he thought she was going to hex him.

She just looked up at him and smiled, "Your forgiven Sirius," she said.

Sirius smiled, but then it faltered, "How mad was he?"

"He wasn't mad about the wards, but he was more upset that I didn't tell him about it beforehand."

"Well, I guess I can see his point. Just tell us if you need anything Kitten we aren't going to turn you away," he said as they parted and she headed downstairs to find Ginny.

Hermione found her in the kitchen talking to Tonks and Remus over a cup of tea.

She summoned a tea cup to herself and sat down next to Remus, who leaned in and whispered, "Everything all right Hermione?" She reached for the sugar while nodding, "Yea everything is great actually," she said brightly. Remus looked slightly confused but shrugged and joined back into the conversation Ginny and Tonks were having.

"There are five healing spells that we are required to learn when training to become aurors. The first and probably the easiest is Episkey, which is used to treat mild and some moderate wounds like a split lip or a broken nose. Second is Tergeo, which isn't really a healing spell, but it is used to clean the dried blood from a wound before healing it," Tonks explained and took another sip of her tea. "Then there's Anapneo which we use when someone is chocking to dislodge whatever they have in their throats. I actually have had that one performed on me more times than I care to admit. The fourth is…" she said trying to remember her training.

Remus cut in to help her, "Brackium Emendo is one of them isn't it?" he asked. "Yea that's one of them," she said smiling at Remus who turned slightly pink. "That one is used to mend bones, but you have to be careful because if you aren't concentrating it will make the bones vanish."

Ginny piped in, "Isn't that what happened when Lockhart tried to heal Harry's are after the Quidditch game against Slytherin?" she asked Hermione.

Hermione nodded, "Yea, I remember that. Dobby had rigged the bludger," she said laughing a little.

Ginny stopped laughing after a moment and turned to Tonks, "What's the last one?"

Tonks thought for a moment before her face turned serious, "Vulnera Sanentur is the hardest one to accomplish. It is used to heal deep gashes, and the thing to remember is that you have to say it three times. The first time the flow of blood eases up; the second time causes the wounds to knit; the third time removes most visible injuries."

"Why not use Essence of Dittany?" Hermione asked.

Tonks nodded her acknowledgement, "It's expensive to buy, and some of the ingredients are rare. The aurors also find it a bit more manageable to use spells instead of potions. Many of them don't like carrying around vials of potion, but it is a great way to heal if you've lost your wand," she explained. "Why do you want to know all of this anyway, planning to become and auror?" she asked Ginny.

Ginny shook her head, "I just feel frustrated never being able to be a part of the war. I know that I am young, but that doesn't mean the war isn't affecting me any less. Hermione gave me the idea that if I can't be part of the battle directly I should learn some healing techniques for the sidelines," she clarified as she nodded towards Hermione. "That reminds me, Hermione ready to go up to the library?" Hermione nodded and banished her tea cup to the sink to wash itself, and rose from her spot beside Remus. Ginny followed her out of the kitchen, "Thanks for everything Tonks, you too Remus," she called over her shoulder.

They headed up to the library and found Ron and Harry playing chess. They both said hello to the boys and started to search the library for medical books. Hermione specifically wanted a book on medical potions, maybe she could. After about thirty minutes they were done scanning the entire library and they came back together and piled the four books they found on the table. They sat together on the couch and started to skim through them until they found something useful or relevant. Ginny tossed the first book she looked at down beside her after about ten minutes muttering something about how history doesn't matter under her breath.

Behind them she could hear Ron, "Checkmate!"

"Good game, do you want to go flying before the Order meeting tonight?" Harry asked as they set the players back into the proper positions. Ron nodded and they called to the girls to have fun while they left the room.

They just bidded and Ginny picked up the next book on the pile and started over again seeing as the history book held nothing that was relevant.

Hermione was looking through _Magical Medical Maladies_, "Ah ha, found one that might be useful. It is a spell that splints arms and legs in case of severe breaks. Scindo Crur splints the leg of the person, and Scindo Iunctura splints the arm," she explained as she showed Ginny the passage.

Ginny nodded and turned her book to face Hermione, "Here's one that helps to regulate the status of a person's injuries, Tempero Pestifer. Another is Malum Severitas, which tells you how severe the injury is. Apparently a light with glow from the body part in specific and red means severe and blue means no injury. Everything else ranges in color."

Hermione put down her book, "I'm sorry were not going to be able to test these until something real happens, it's not as if I can go break Ron's arm and tell him I need to practice as an explanation."

Ginny giggled, "I wouldn't mind seeing his face," she put down her book as well and glanced at the last one. "_Medicinal Potion Ingredients_, I don't think we can use that one, we don't have access to potion ingredients or a lab."

Hermione looked towards the book, "I want to read it anyway, I might find something interesting in it," she explained grabbing the book, shrinking it, and putting it in her pocket. "You keep reading those two books on spells, and try and write down everything you think would be useful, okay? Even that history book that you threw aside may be interesting to read," Ginny gave her an inquiring look, "It could hold some techniques if you look up war or battle scenarios and what healers did during them," she clarified.

Ginny smiled and nodded, "Thank you Hermione, for everything." She stood up and collected the three remaining books for herself and headed out of the library, "I'm going to go read them now."

Hermione nodded at her, "See you later Gin."

When the oak doors were closed, she reached into her pocket and took out the medical potions book she had stored there earlier. She enlarged it and started reading.

_Dittany__ is a magical plant used in Potion making, and is a powerful restorative. Its use makes fresh skin grow over a wound, and after application, the wound seems several days old. The Wiggenweld Potion commonly uses Dittany as one of its Ingredients. Turn to page 256 to see the rest of the Wiggenweld Potion ingredients._ Hermione flipped the book to page 256 and looked over the potion ingredients.

_The Wiggenweld Potion Ingredients_

_One pint of Horklump juice_

_2 drops of Flobberworm Mucus _

_7 __Chizpurfle__ fangs_

_Billywig sting__slime_

_A sprig of mint_

_Boom Berry juice_

_One stewed __Mandrake__ – must be mature_

_Drops of __Honeywater_

_Sloth brain Mucus_

_Moondew__ drops – the true amount is unknown, but works best when more than three drops are added _

_Powdered root of __asphodel_

_Shredded __dittany_

_Wiggentree__ bark _

_Moly__ petals _

_Salamander blood_

_10 Lionfish spines_

_Unicorn horn_

_Wolfsbane or Monkshood_

Hermione closed the book and thought for a moment, if she could somehow brew Essence of Dittany it could be extremely helpful in battle. She knew the aurors liked to use spells, but many people didn't know the spells required to heal severe injuries. It would take seconds to pull out a vial of Dittany and pour it over the wound. She stood up and summoned a piece of parchment to herself as well as a quill. She walked over to the bookshelf and started skimming for potion brewing texts that would tell her the process of making Essence of Dittany, she finally found something promising, _Potions: The Real Life Application_, and pulled it off the shelf. She flipped through it until she found medicinal potions and in turn found the process of making Essence of Dittany.

One of the main ingredients was Re'em blood, which was extremely expensive because of the difficulty in obtaining it, but not impossible. Maybe she could ask Charlie or Hagrid if they knew of any wizard or witch that had access to a Re'em.

She shrank her new book and put it in her pocket for later use. She knew that there was an Order meeting tonight, but maybe if she was quick enough, Dumbledore would reconsider letting her get the lab this afternoon. She walked back downstairs and into the kitchen, and finding nobody except Kreacher she told him to tell anybody who asked that she went to Hogwarts to speak to Dumbledore. She then grabbed a handful of floo powder from the jar on the mantel and threw it in, the flames turned green. She stepped in and called, "Hogwarts," and she was gone in a flash of color.

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><p>Reviews are appreciated, I do take what you guys say into account. Any ideas you want to throw at me are well taken and any criticism.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Hello Everyone, apparently I was able to get this done before I left, and that means I probably get chapter 7 done as well. I hope you enjoy it.

Diclaimer: I own nothing.

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

Hermione stopped suddenly and walked out of the fireplace looking around. She stood in the Hogwarts kitchen, _'Next Time I'll make sure to be more specific…'_ she thought to herself as she weaved through a variety of house elves as she tried to get to the door. It didn't help that she had to say "No thank you" every ten seconds as an elf shoved some sort of consumable item in her face. She finally made it to the door and opened it to step out into the hallway. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned right to go to the nearest staircase.

It was strangely eerie in the castle when nobody was in it, and she didn't pass anyone except for the Fat Friar who just gave her a smile and nod. She continued up the many stair cases until she reached the Gargoyle protecting Dumbledore's office.

"Great," she said frustrated as she had no idea what the password was. "Chocolate Frogs?" she asked, nothing happened. "Fudge Flies, Blood Pops, Licorice Snaps, Droobles Bubble Gum, Jelly Slug, Acid Pops, Fizzing Whizbees, Cockroach Clusters, Ice Mice, Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans!" she shouted at the statue as she got increasing frustrated. At the last the gargoyle jumped aside and the staircase started revolving upwards. She smiled to herself and hopped on and waited until she reached the office door. When the staircase stopped she reached to knock on it, but someone opened it from the other side.

Hermione took back a step as Professor Snape, who not paying attention in front of him because he was still having a heated conversation over his shoulder, bumped right into Hermione almost knocking her back down the stairs.

He grabbed her arm roughly to stop her from falling, and was saved from having to add another person's list of injuries to his conscience.

He glared at her, "Watch where you're going Miss Granger," he snarled at her before releasing her arm and stepping past her to go down the stairs.

Hermione just watched him as he left with an annoyed look on her face, "Nice to see you too Sir," she answered back as she stepped into Dumbledore's office and closed the door before he could yell at her some more.

Dumbledore was chuckling as he welcomed her in to join him near the fire. There were only two chairs. She took the seat Professor Snape seemed to have conjured for himself, as the canary yellow barcalounger that the Headmaster was sitting probably wasn't his style. It was a black wingback chair, and did not look like the most comfortable seat in the world, but when she sat down she was pleasantly surprised.

Dumbledore summoned a cup of tea for her, "Hello Miss Granger, How are you this fine afternoon?" he asked pleasantly and took another sip of his own tea.

She smiled and nodded her thanks for the tea, "I've come to see if I could take you up on that offer for the lab today? Ginny and I were done early with what we were doing, and I saw fit to come and ask you if the offer still stood."

The headmaster nodded his consent, "That would be fine Miss Granger, come let us go to your lab now, as we don't have a lot of time before the meeting tonight," he said as he rose from his chair and placed his teacup on the coffee table in front of them.

She rose behind them and placed her cup next to his, and followed him out of his office and down the stairs where the Gargoyle stepped back into lace when they had exited. They started walking down many flights of stairs until they reached the ground level.

He stopped and turned towards her, "All of the Hogwarts potion labs are in the dungeon as many reactions and ingredients do not bode well with excess light, which include sunlight shining through the windows," he explained as they headed into the dungeons.

They walked by the potion's classroom and turned left down another series of hallways. After about three minutes they stopped in front of a large picture of a wood nymph petting a small deer. Upon the arrival the deer sprinted into the next frame to hide from the intruders. The nymph looked after it and then turned to see who had spooked her friend. She walked closer to them in the painting and grew bigger as she did.

She said nothing, but she cupped her hands and held them out to the Headmaster, who in turn took out a small vial with silver liquid in it. He cast a spell over it and handed it to Hermione.

"This is a very special painting, she does not talk. In order to gain access to your lab you must pour a drop of this liquid into her hands. She will drink it, if it is you, she will open the door. The vial will not contain any liquid in it if you are the not the one holding it. Furthermore, if someone has it that looks like you, Kapila [4] will drink it and immediately knows it is not you. She will then send her familiar, who we seemed to have scared off to inform you or myself," he explained.

Hermione nodded stunned a little at the interesting protection she had gained over the lab. She felt a little better knowing that any Syltherins that followed her down here could not gain access if they heard her password. "What happens when I run out of the liquid," she asked while holding it up to see.

"It refills automatically and will never run out," he answered before heading back up the hallway. "I will see you at eight o'clock for the meeting Miss Granger, I hope you enjoy your lab," he said over his shoulder before he turned the corner and was gone.

Hermione turned towards the nymph who still had her hands cupped, and she quickly unstoppered the vial and poured it on the canvas directly above her hands. The liquid seemed to join the painting and flow into her hands. She carefully sipped the liquid and she glowed briefly before the pointed behind Hermione to show her the door that appeared on the far wall.

It was a large door, similar to the one in the potion's classroom, and it opened with a small creak. When she entered the room filled with light on its own accord from seemingly nowhere. She smiled at the medium sized room.

There were three tables in the center of the room, and they all had different counter tops: one wood, one that looked like copper, and one that looked surprisingly like silver. The room's walls and floor were made of stone, and there were three other doors in the room. Along the walls there were counters and above head shelves running along most of the room. They were made from a darker wood, and when she opened up the closest one it was empty. She frowned slightly.

She kept opening up the drawers and cupboards, but everything seemed to be empty. She moved to the tables in the center and opened one of the cupboards underneath, empty. _'Damn, this would have been a great spot to keep the silver cauldrons,'_ she thought to herself as she closed to door. She then heard something shift in the drawer and opened it back up. In front of her eyes were six different sized silver cauldrons.

"No way," she said to herself. She needed to test her theory and walked over to the copper table. She leaned down and opened the cupboard door to find it empty so she closed it. _'Copper cauldrons please,'_ she thought to the room, and again she heard something shift. Upon opening it again she saw copper cauldrons in a variety of sizes. She almost jumped for joy at the ingenuity of this room, she never expected something as wonderful as this for her lab.

Curious as to what lay beyond the three doors she walked to the far one from the entrance. Turning the doorknob and pushing it opened she saw a small bathroom with a toilet and sink inside. There were marble tiles on the floor and the walls were painted a light green color. She closed the door and turned to the next one. Inside this one was her potion ingredient closet. There were shelves above her head filled with a variety of potion ingredients. She looked at the shelf nearest to her and saw Flobberworm Mucus, and next to that Fire Salamander blood. She looked more closely around the room and notice that they were organized alphabetically.

When she left that room she had a huge smile on her face. She turned to the last door thinking that nothing could be better than the last room and opened the door to peer inside. She walked into a well-lit office with bookshelves lining the walls, and a beautiful fireplace in the wall. A desk was in the corner for her use, and in front of the fireplace there were two comfy-looking brown wingback chairs where she could sit and read by the fire.

The bookshelves were full of various reading materials from Arithmancy to Herbology to Potions. If Hermione's smile could have gotten any bigger it would have. She plucked a book called _Potions and the Crusades_ and sat in one of the chairs by the fire. She lost track of time completely, and by the time she looked up from her book to cast _Tempus_ it was already 7:39 PM. She jumped up from her chair and placed the book back on the shelf. She looked towards the fireplace hoping there would be floo powder there. There was none, so she rushed out of her office and exited the lab.

She rushed up the stairs to get to the first floor and sprinted out of the front doors to the castle gate. She thought of the alley next to Grimmauld Place and apparated with a _Crack._ She rushed up to the where the door was supposed to be and hastily thought _'Number 12, Grimmauld Place,'_ and stepped back to let the door appear. She cast a quick _Tempus _while she waited and saw it was 8:02 PM. She stepped quietly into the house, as to not awake Mrs. Black and walked quickly to the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen she saw that she was the last one there, "Sorry everyone, had a bit of a read and lost track of time," she explained towards no one in particular.

Dumbledore just smiled with a twinkle in his eye, "Please come join us Miss Granger," he requested.

Hermione took the only open chair left and sat between Tonks and Professor Snape. Tonks gave her a brief smile and nod, and Professor Snape seemed to ignore her as best her could.

"Now, where was I?" Dumbledore asked himself, "Oh, the Muggleborn house wards. The ministry has deemed it necessary to take my considerations into account. Within a week muggleborn homes will be warded and any persons entering those homes that are not welcome will alert both the Ministry aurors and the Order," he explained. A murmur of excitement started around the room at this news but Dumbledore cleared his throat and the room quieted instantly. "Now I believe Severus wanted to take the floor," he said gesturing to Severus and sitting down at the head of the table.

Severus rose from this seat and made his way to the front of the room, "I know nothing in specific of who Voldemort plans to attack next, but as he has not attacked in the last eight day. I believe it will be a high value target," he explained.

Moody grunted displeased, "You are no good to us as a spy if you can't even tell us who the next person he will attack is," he pointed out with a nasty tone.

Dumbledore answered before Severus could have a chance to argue back, "Moody please, Severus is doing the best he can, and I will not have you coming down on him for what Voldemort does and does not do," he said calmly but sternly.

Hermione was looking back and forth between the arguments when she felt something warm in her pocket. She froze in shock immediately. She hastily reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin that was rapidly getting hotter. "No!" she screamed in horror, and the entire kitchen looked towards her in shock.

"My parents are being attacked right now!" she screamed and in an instant the entire Order was on the move. She ran towards the front door to apparate with Tonks, Remus, Sirius, Harry, Ron, McGonagall, and Dumbledore behind her. The all apparated at once and the resounding _Crack_ would have been deafening to anyone nearby. When they appeared in front of the house she saw the door had been splintered to gain entry, but the dark mark was not floating above. She rushed towards the house after them, but was grabbed by Sirius before she could get to the front door.

"You can't just rush in there Kitten, they'll kill you!" he shouted as he held the struggling Hermione, who had now resorted to kicking to get free.

"Let me go! My parents are in there!" she screamed ripping at his arms to try an escape his grasp.

"Hermione stop! Remember you cast a second ward on their bedroom, they'll be safe. We have the advantage out here; Dumbledore is putting up anti-apparition wards as we speak so they can't escape. They have no choice but to come back out here."

In that moment she heard the arrival of the Ministry aurors and looked around her for the first time. There were at least thirty people here to help, she almost cried in relief.

There was a loud smash that could be heard inside the house, and a few moments later four black cloaked figures rushed outside, spells firing rapidly. Sirius let her go and she started casting her own spells at them. "_Sectumsempra_," she shouted at the Deatheater closest to her. The spell hit its mark and he collapsed to the floor writhing in pain.

She turned to the next one, but saw that all three had been captured already. Apparently four against thirty are great odds.

She vaguely heard someone shouting at her as she sprinted into the house to get to her parents. Climbing the stairs she saw what the loud smash was, they had been trying to get into the bedroom and had blown out the hallway wall in their attempts to gain access. She was so busy taking down the wards that she didn't hear the silently cast stunner. It hit her in the back and she knew no more.

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><p>Sorry it's a bit short, I thought this was a good place to end it.<p>

Reviews are always appreciated.

[4] Kapila means Gentle Woman in Sanskrit


	7. Chapter 7

Here you go everyone, chapter 7. My Beta is going to kill me when she sees this posted. She asked me to slow down, but I felt bad cause of the cliffe. So here you go!

Also this chapter develops Hermione and Sirius' relationship a little further. Don't worry this is a Severus/Hermione fic, I just need to develop them for later drama and fun. Severus will begin to come into play in the next few chapters. :-)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

Severus saw Hermione rush into the house to get to her parents, "Miss Granger!" he shouted after her. He knew that there was a good chance a Deatheater or two were still in the house. He rushed after her; he wouldn't have that girl's blood on his hands if he could help it. He reached the house at the same time as Sirius.

"Hurry Black, there are probably more Deatheaters in here that she isn't aware of!" he shouted as they both rushed to the stairs. They saw the spell hit her in the back as she tried to unward her parents' bedroom door.

Sirius dashed all the way up the stairs and into the hallway. The Deatheater raised its wand again, but Sirius tackled it to the floor before it could cast a spell. Its mask flew off and revealed the shocked face of Dolohov. His shock quickly turned into rage, but Sirius already had his wand digging into his throat.

"I swear, if she is anything more than stunned I will rip out your throat with my bare hands," his voice a deadly quiet. "_Incarcerous,"_ he said, and thick black ropes wound themselves around Dolohov. He struggled against the bonds and started screaming. "_Silencio,_" Sirius added before he walked over to where Severus was checking Hermione.

Severus was casting _Enervate_ over Hermione, but she wasn't stirring so he checked the pulse in her neck and breathed a sigh of relief at the rhythm he felt there. He started to look at her more closely, and found that the back of her head was bleeding. He looked around and saw that she had hit her head hard when she was hit by the stunner.

"Black, she needs Poppy. When the stunner hit her she fell hard and smashed the back of her head. I can do nothing for head injuries myself," he said as he picked her up in his arms and started heading towards the stairs.

Other people were filtering into the house now, and he had to weave his way through the aurors and Order members to get outside. He walked over to Dumbledore who was taking to Kingsley and asked for a Hospital Wing portkey. Dumbledore nodded and pulled out a piece of wrapped candy from his pocket and cast _Portus_ on it.

"Dolohov is in the house, but Black seems to have taken care of him. Watch him though, he looked like he wanted to kill him when I left," he said before he took the portkey. He felt the familiar pull behind his navel whenever using this method of travel, and were gone. He landed smoothly in the hospital wing a few seconds later. He looked around and did not see Madam Pomfrey.

"Poppy!" he shouted into the room to get her attention, and walked over to the nearest bed to lay her down.

"Oh my!" she said and rushed into the room. Seeing Hermione on the bed motionless she hurried over to her and started casting diagnostic spells. "What happened Severus?" she asked as she turned Hermione's head to get a better look at the damage.

"Deatheaters attacked her home while we were at an Order meeting, she didn't realize that some of them are a bit cleverer than those that rushed out of the house to escape," he explained.

"Yes, yes, but did a spell cause this injury?" she prompted.

"No, she was hit by a stunner and hit her head when she fell," he explained.

At that moment the hospital wing doors burst open and Sirius, Tonks, Remus, Ron, and Harry rushed in. Seeing Hermione in the hospital bed they began to head towards her, but were halted by Madam Pomfrey.

"I will not have my hospital wing turning into a zoo. Miss Granger will be fine, but I wish for her to not be surrounded by people as she recovers. You may visit her two at a time if you wish, but no more than that. I will be right back," she finished as she bustled over to the potions cabinet and pulled out three vials.

Ron and Harry took their turn first. They each held one of her hands, "That was brilliant warding Hermione, you saved your parents' lives," Harry whispered to the still unconscious girl. "Yea, Harry's right, you were brilliant. If they had waited for the Ministry wards they would have been goners," Ron continued. They stayed there for another couple for another couple of minutes before they were shooed off by Madam Pomfrey.

Tonks and Remus stepped up to Hermione next, while Madam Pomfrey bandaged her head where it had been hit. "Wotcher, Hermione," Tonks said softly as she reached for her hand. She looked to Madam Pomfrey, "How long until she is going to be okay Poppy?"

Madam Pomfrey looked up from what she was doing and smiled reassuringly at her, "If she's not up by tomorrow morning I'll be surprised. Her head will heal overnight, and he should be okay by tomorrow."

Remus nodded, "That's good because no one can get those wards of hers down from her parents' bedroom. We have three curse breakers down there now, and combined they can't get them to budge. Hopefully her parents will be okay by morning," he said.

Tonks and Remus left the hospital wing together to apparate to the Ministry to help identify the Deatheaters that were caught.

Sirius was the last one in the hospital when he looked around. He walked up to Hermione and conjured a chair for himself and set it beside her. "I'm going to stay here if that's okay with you, I don't want her to wake up alone," he explained.

Madam Pomfrey nodded, "That's fine. Make sure she takes these three potions when she wakes up. The yellow one is a basic headache potion, the green one is an anti-inflammatory potion, and the blue one is a basic healing potion for any knicks or bruises she may have," she explained as she held up each one to show him. He nodded in understanding and turned to watch Hermione. Her breathing was even and she didn't seem to be in any sort of pain.

He sat there for a few hours before his eyelids began to grow heavy and after a while his breathing became shallow and even and he fell asleep.

Hermione woke up slowly, as her head was throbbing. Keeping her eyes tightly shut she reached up to find a bandage wrapped around her forehead and she probed at it, only making her headache worse. There seemed to be no light beyond her eyelids, and she felt herself in a warm bed. Taking all these things into account it seemed that she was safe, and not at the mercy of psychopaths. Unless of course the psychopaths wanted her to feel safe and then take it all away the moment she opened her eyes. She cracked open one eyelid and attempted to look around, but it was very dark and she could not see much. She blinked a few times and noticed a figure sleeping in a chair beside her.

It took her eyes a few minutes to focus completely so that she could see Sirius' sleeping profile. She chuckled silently to herself, _'Oh how the roles have reversed,'_ she thought.

_Flashback_

She was spending a few weeks at Grimmauld Place during the summer after her fifth year. Everyone had gone to a Quidditch match except for her and Sirius, as he was not a free man yet, and she was not just not that interested. She was in the library when she heard a thump on the floor above her head. She set down her book and headed up the stairs to make sure everything was okay. As she ascended the stairs the air began to get extremely chilly, and she pulled out her wand. She got to the landing and saw that Sirius' bedroom door was ajar and walked silently over to it. The floor beneath her feet was getting icy, as well as the door handle to his bedroom. She pushed open the door slightly and saw Sirius passed out on the floor with a Dementor over him.

"_Expecto Patronum!"_ she shouted, and her otter burst out of the tip of her wand. The little ghostly creature started to attack the Dementor, but instead of running away like it was supposed it, it turned towards her and transformed. In front of her was the dead and bloodied body of Harry. After a second it changed to Ron, then her mother, then her father. One after another the Boggart turned into the people she loved, dead before her eyes. _'Riddikulus,' _she shouted at the now dead Fred, and instantly the Boggart turned into gray ash and died. She turned towards the unconscious Sirius on the floor and levitated him onto his bed. He had a cold sweat and was shaking badly. She covered him with his blanket, and summoned some more quilts to cover him from the linen closet in the hallway.

After about an hour Sirius woke up confused, and looking around for an answer he saw Hermione sitting in a chair beside him reading a book. She finally noticed he was awake when sat up, and reached for the glass of water on his bedside table.

Hermione reached for it first and handed it to him, "Thanks," he said before taking a sip, "What happened?"

She took the glass back from him and set it on the table, "What do you remember?"

"I think there was a Dementor living in my closet, but I don't think that's possible is it?" he asked clearly confused.

Hermione giggled a little at the thought of a pet Dementor, "No, not a Dementor. You got attacked by a Boggart, but I'm confused. I've never seen anybody react to a Boggart Dementor as badly as you did."

Sirius nodded in understanding, "After twenty years in Azkaban they tend to have more of an effect on you. They feed on happy memories, and after twenty years it leaves you with very few. It takes much less effort for a Dementor to get me than it would you, for example, even if it was a Boggart," he explained.

"Why didn't you cast your patronus?"

"Same reason, I don't have powerful happy memories anymore. I haven't been able to cast my patronus in years," he said sadly.

Hermione thought for a moment and smiled, "I'll be right back, don't move," she said as she rushed out of the room and down the stairs. She returned a minute later carrying a small book in her hands. She showed him the title, _Dark Creatures of the North_. This book has everything you need to know about Dementors, and how best to counteract the side effects. "First things first though," she said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a wrapped piece of food and handed it to Sirius.

He unwrapped it and smiled, "You think of everything don't you Hermione?" he asked as he took a bite out of the chocolate she had just given him.

"Not everything," she responded.

Ever since that moment they had grown closer over the last two years. She helped him regain the ability to cast his patronus, and now every time he needed to fight off a Dementor a silver Kitten burst out of the tip of his wand poised and ready to kill. She had laughed for days at that, but since then he had lovingly referred to her as Kitten.

_End Flashback_

She tried to recall what had happened before she blacked out. The last thing she remembered was trying to get into her parents' bedroom. _'My parents!'_ she thought to herself as her eyes grew wide. Seeing that she was fully clothed she stepped out of the hospital bed quietly. She cast _Tempus _and saw it was three in the morning, nobody would be awake.

She knew that if Sirius were to wake up he would try and stop her from going. She saw the three vials of potion on the nightstand and picked one of them up. She uncorked it and smelled the liquid, headache potion. She downed that vial in one gulp, and went for the next. She swallowed all three recognizing them by smell and color. She then slipped on the pair of trainers on the floor that she had been wearing. She headed over to the fireplace and picked up a little floo powder from the mantel and threw it in. Stepping into the green flames she whispered, "Grimmauld Place, kitchen" and was gone.

She stepped into the dark and quiet kitchen and wandlessly cast _Lumos_. She walked quickly to the front door to apparate. She stepped outside onto the stoop and imagined the backyard of the house, and with a small _Crack_ she apparated.

She could see her parents' bedroom window from where she landed, and the lights seemed to be off. She stepped into the house, and headed for the stairs. She silently made her way up the stairs and through the wreckage that was the upstairs hallway over to her parents' door. Taking her wand and pointing it at her finger she cast a small slicing hex, and blood started to flow out of the cut. Drawing a rune out of the blood on the door, she felt the wards come down on the door. Opening the door she was surprised to see her father pacing in front of the bed while her mother slept.

"Dad?" she asked quietly.

"Hermione?" he questioned loudly looking towards the door for his daughter. Upon seeing her he rushed over and grabbed her in the fiercest hug she could ever remember getting. "Sweetheart are you okay? What happened to your head? Honey, Hermione is here," he announced to his wife who awoke instantly.

"Hermione!" her mother nearly shrieked as she flew towards her daughter and proved her earlier "fiercest hug" experience wrong. "What happened to you? Why is your head wrapped up like that?" she asked concerned and led her daughter to the bed to sit down.

She took a deep breath and explained the occurrences of the night from getting her lab to waking up in the hospital wing a few minutes ago. She told her parents to stay in this room for tonight, and that they would be back in the morning to figure out what they were going to do about the house and their location. After saying goodnight she stepped back out into the hallway and vanished the blood rune from the door. The wards flashed back into place.

She thought for a moment before deciding that she should get back to the hospital wing before Sirius realized she was missing. She took the reverse route back into the hospital wing, and she was met with a frantic looking Sirius running around the hospital wing.

"Poppy!" she heard him scream. The nurse ran into the wing in her night cloths and did not look very pleased.

"What the devil is the matter Sirius Black?" she asked her voice rising.

"Hermione, she's gone. I woke up and she wasn't in bed, I don't know where she went, do you?" he asked her as he started to hyperventilate a little.

Madam Pomfrey saw Hermione by the fireplace watching the entire scene trying her hardest not to laugh. "Have you checked the fireplace Sirius?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Why would she be in the firepl-," he began to say as he turned around and notice Hermione standing there trying to keep her face stoic. "Hermione Jean Granger! Where the hell have you been?" he practically screamed as he stomped towards her and grabbed her in a bear hug. "Don't you ever leave like that again, do you understand me?" he asked looking down at her.

Seeing the look on his face broke her down, she felt horrible. "I'm sorry Sirius, it just I woke up and…I needed to see if my parents were alright. I just went to check on them. I knew that you would have stopped me if you saw me going," she explained.

"Damn right I would have stopped you from going. Please don't ever scare me like that again Kitten. I almost had a heart attack." She nodded into his chest, "I promise."

Madam Pomfrey bustled over to where they were standing, "Now Miss Granger, if you could just hold still while I examine you," she requested as she threw a few diagnostic spells towards her head. Nodding in approval she unwrapped the bandage, and stepped back. "Good as new Miss Granger, but try not to exert yourself for the next day, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," she responded.

They headed back to Grimmauld Place via floo, and headed up to the third floor to their respective bedrooms. "Good night Kitten," he said as he walked towards his bedroom.

"Good night Sirius," she answered and a few minutes later they were both asleep and warm in their beds.

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><p>Reviews are appreciated. I love it when you guys correct me, and suggest ideas so hit me up!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone! Here is chapter 8! Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

She arrived in the Headmaster's office at eight thirty the next morning.

"Good morning Miss Granger," he greeted as he gestured to the chairs by the fire. She took a seat in the one closer to the heat and was handed a cup of tea. She added some milk and sugar to it before taking a sip.

She looked at the Headmaster as he sat down in the chair next to her, "So, what happens now Professor Dumbledore?" she asked quietly.

He thought for a moment, "That my dear is up to you and your parents, but my recommendation is to get them out of the country and in an unplottable home. You would need a secret keeper though."

Hermione nodded her acknowledgement to the idea, "They aren't going to like leaving their home and business behind, sir."

Dumbledore took a sip of his own tea, "You just have to explain to them that there is really no other option for them until this dreadful war is over," he explained.

She rose from her seat and put down her tea, "Give me one hour to tell them. I send you word by patronus when we are ready. Is that enough time to get the safe house ready?"

He nodded and rose as well, "That should be plenty of time. I have also contacted the Ministry floo network, and your home has been added to the Hogwarts network for the time being," he said gesturing to the fireplace.

Hermione gave a small smile, "One hour," she repeated as she grabbed some floo powder off the mantle and threw it into the flames. She stepped into the green fire and called out, "Granger residence". A few seconds later she was thrown out of the fireplace and into her parents' living room.

She walked up the stairs and stepped over the broken photos that were scattered on the ground. She would fix them while her parents packed. She walked to the bedroom door and wrote the Rune in fresh blood from her finger on the wood. She knocked on the door and waited for her parents to answer.

"Who's there?" she heard her mother ask.

"It's me," Hermione responded.

The door opened and a worried looking Helen grabbed her daughter in a hug. Hermione returned the hug, and pulled back to look at her mother, "The next time you hear my voice outside a door, don't just answer, we need a password. Something special that will tell you that its really me; any extremely personal question should do."

Her mother nodded and gestured for her to sit on the bed with her. The bathroom door was closed, and she could hear the water running, "Your father's in the shower, he'll be out in a few minutes. Is everything alright?"

Hermione shook her head minutely, "No, this house is no longer safe to stay in. We have a safe house for you to stay in, and it's unplottable." At her mother's confused stare she clarified, "It means no amount of magic can find it, I won't even know where you are. There will be a secret keeper who knows the address of the house, and they will give it to me when the war is over."

Helen looked alarmed, "You're not coming with us?"

Hermione shook her head, "I can't; they need me. I need to be there when the final battle takes place. Harry needs me there to support him."

Just then her father stepped out of the bathroom in his clothes, hair still damp, "Hello book worm," he greeted as he walked over to give her a hug.

"Good morning dad, I was just telling mum about the safe house that has been set up for you," she said.

"What safe house?" John inquired.

"It's a house that can't be detected by magic, and is only known by one person."

"Will we be able to leave the safe house?"

"Not unless it's in a different country, and even then you could still be in danger."

John frowned, "What about out dental business? We can't just leave that, we have patients that need to be taken care of!"

"Dad, I'm sorry, but isn't yours and mum's life more important than a business?"

He looked at his wife and nodded in understanding, "Fine, where is the safe house?"

"I'm not sure; Professor Dumbledore is setting everything up. We have about forty-five minutes until everything is ready. We should start packing," she explained as she rose from the bed to walk out into the hallway. "Pack everything you need, clothing, toiletries and the like. The safe house should have everything else already."

She turned and walked out into the hallway. She cast a quick _Reparo _over the pictures and the formed back into the frames. She leaned down to pick the entire collection up, and went to grab the others that were still intact on the wall. She walked into her room and placed them one her bed. She knew that she had a spare small trunk that could be used to transport them in. She grabbed it and opened the latch. She placed them carefully into the trunk and carried it downstairs to collect the rest of the photos and albums her mother would want.

Her parents came downstairs with three suitcases, and Hermione shrunk them so they could put them in their pockets. She had already shrunk the trunk with photos in it and stashed it away in her pocket. She gestured for them to sit on the couch.

She took a deep breath and thought of a happy memory, "_Expecto patronum,"_ she said and her silver otter burst from the tip of her wand. In wound itself around her parents sniffing them before coming back to Hermione and waiting for instructions. "Go to Professor Dumbledore and tell him that we are ready," she told it before joining her parents on the couch.

They waited for merely five minutes before she heard the _Crack_ of apparition. Grabbing her wand she looked out the window to see Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall heading to the front door. Hermione beat them there and opened it before they knocked. She welcomed them inside, "Tea?" she offered, and they politely declined.

"Mister and Missus Granger, I am Minerva McGonagall. I teach transfiguration at Hogwarts," she said as she held at her hand for each of them to shake.

"Yes you were the one to tell us about Hermione and her magic almost seven years ago," Helen recalled.

"I will be your secret keeper for the safe house," Minerva explained as she gestured to Dumbledore to continue.

He cleared his throat, "The house is located in the south of France in a small town called Saint-May. Your only contact will be through Minerva, and you should bring all of your personal possessions with you."

John nodded, "Yes we have packed our clothing, and Hermione has the family pictures we want to take. She informed us that everything else we need will be there already?" he inquired.

Dumbledore nodded, "That is correct. Now, you will go with Minerva to the safe house and she will help you set up. Miss Granger you will come with me as we have a few things to discuss."

Hermione hugged her mother and father tightly, "I'll send a letter to you every week; I love you both so much."

Her father looked at her, "Please be safe book worm, I love you."

Her mother had started crying, "Be careful sweetie, and don't do anything too reckless, okay?"

McGonagall produced a teacup from her pocket, "Please touch this, and we will depart," she requested. Her parents' obeyed and all three were gone in a whirl of color.

Hermione sighed in relief, happy that her parents were finally safe. Dumbledore cleared his throat to get her attention, "Shall we?" he asked gesturing towards the fireplace.

Hermione nodded and they flooed back to his office. "If you ever need to contact them just give the missive to Minerva, and she will make sure to get it to them straight away."

"Thank you for everything Professor, I can't tell you how relieved it makes me to know that they're safe."

"Thanks are not needed Miss Granger," he said as he sat down at his desk and pulled out some parchment from a drawer. "If you'll excuse me, I must write a few letters to the Ministry," he requested as a picked up a quill.

Hermione headed to the door, and walked down the spiraling stairs case. She cast _Tempus_ and saw it was eleven in the morning. She had a couple of hours until lunch, so she headed down to the dungeons to visit her lab. She needed to rearrange the items she would need for the coming weeks when she started her experiments on the Cruciatus Regeneration Potion.

She was too deep in thought trying to picture where she was going to have everything in her lab that she rounded the corner and ran straight into a large solid object. She stumbled backwards, startled.

"Miss Granger, this is the second time in as many days that you have collided with me because you weren't paying attention," Professor Snape sneered.

Hermione looked up to meet him in the eye, "Actually sir, the first time you ran into me," she pointed out keeping a stoic expression.

He glared at her, "What in the name of Merlin are you doing down in the dungeons anyway?"

"Actually I was heading to the lab that the Headmaster gave to me to use for the summer and next year," she responded.

"The Headmaster gave you a Hogwart's potion lab, what was his reasoning behind that move?" he asked in an interrogative tone.

"To work on a potion," she replied cheekily as she tried to move past him.

He moved in front of her so she could no progress further down the hallway, "I do not like being made a fool; what potion Miss Granger?" he growled.

She sighed, "If you would like to follow me sir, it would be easier to show you than trying to explain it," she responded before she moved past him and gestured for him to follow her.

They walked for another few minutes until they reached the portrait of the wood nymph, "Hello Kapila, how are you today?" Hermione asked to creature. Kapila nodded in response and smiled before holding out her hands.

Severus had seen this portrait countless times, but had never tried to interact with it. He watch with fascination as Hermione pulled a small vial out of her pocket and poured some sort of silver liquid into the nymphs waiting hands. She drank the liquid and nodded.

"Thank you Kapila," she said before turning around to the now visible door.

Severus followed her movement into the room and looked around. He raised an eyebrow at her when she turned around to face him.

"Welcome to my lab," she said as she moved to her study. She looked behind her to make sure she was following and was surprised to see he was. She took a seat by the fire in one of the arm chairs, "Please sit, sir."

"I don't have all day Miss Granger," he said harshly looking down at her.

"If you want to see what I am making then I'm going to have to ask you to sit. Its rather complex and if you don't have the time now then perhaps I could show you some other time?" she asked politely.

High gave a frustrated sigh and sat in the chair next to her. He then raised an eyebrow in question to indicate if she was happy now. She smiled and reached into her pocket and pulled out a shrunken folder stuffed with parchment. She cast an enlargement charm on it and pulled out the first half of the recipe to show him.

He looked down at the parchment and began to read.

_**Cruciatus Regenerative Potion**_

_Note: The Bonsai Willow must not have any spells cast on it in order for this potion to work. This includes when the plant is being grown, as well as during brewing. Any spell cast near it must be low level, but no spell casting is best. In case of emergency where a higher level spell must be cast add a small amount of Dried Manticore Skin into the potion to repel the magic. If this ingredient is not added before the spell is cast the potion will become unstable and explode._

_**Base:**_

_Bonsai Willow Bark Extract: Let 564 grams of Willow Bark soak in 8 cups of Horklump Juice for 48 hours to allow maximum absorption of the properties of the Willow Bark by the Horklump Juice. The base will have a gelatin consistency until heated and be golden in color._

_**Ingredients:**_

_Using a Standard 6 Copper Cauldron over medium heat let the base boil for 36 minutes stirring once counterclockwise every 3 minutes. The potion should be canary yellow in color, and have the consistency of pudding._

_Add 14 tablespoons of Murtlap Essence and stir clockwise 8 times; color should change from canary yellow to lime green. The consistency of the potion will look like cottage cheese._

_Ingredients Below should be added every 42 seconds and one at a time. This timing needs to be exact for maximum power in the potion: Potion need to be stirred quickly clockwise for 12 seconds and then counterclockwise for 30 seconds before adding the next ingredient on the list:_

_2 teaspoons Powdered Moonstone_

_1 tablespoon Syrup of Hellebore_

_5 teaspoons Powdered porcupine quills_

_3 Large Valerian Roots ground into a fine paste(Mortar and Pestle must be Bronze)_

_1/3 teaspoon of Powdered Unicorn Horn_

_Potion should turn into a dark aquamarine color and have a watery consistency. Let the potion boil for 30 minutes without being disturbed. The color with gradually change into a forest._

_Combine together in a silver bowl before adding to the potion, mix using a silver stirring rod until it is dark brown and has the consistency of mustard:_

_1 cup Flobberworm mucus_

_4 tablespoons Honey Water_

_5 teaspoons Fire Salamander Blood (Hungarian or Australian) _

_Add to the base potion after the 30 minute time lapse as stated above. Stir slowly and constantly clockwise for 13 minutes after addition. Let the potion simmer on low for 36 hours with no disturbance. The potion will be a light pink color and have the consistency of dish soap._

He looked up after a few minutes, "This potion does not look complete Miss Granger. The Fire Salamander Blood would only stabilize the Powdered Unicorn Horn for," he thought a moment calculating in his head the correct time frame until the potion exploded, "No more than forty hours, probably less."

She smiled, "Nothing gets past you Sir," she said and pulled out a second piece of parchment handing it to him.

He looked down at it and read.

_After the 36 hour time interval has elapsed, use an extremely high heat. The temperature of the potion should be in between 175 degrees Celsius and 204 degrees Celsius. After each of the following ingredients has been added, stir the potion 4 times clockwise and 3 times counterclockwise using a gold stirring rod._

_7 teaspoons Powdered Root of Asphodel_

_2 Purple Thorn Blossoms Picked During a New Moon_

_1 tablespoon of Bone Marrow from a Irish Spiked Dragon_

_1 Cobra Fang that has been soaked in Essence of Toad for 24 hours_

_Let the potion simmer for 18 minutes undisturbed on a medium heat, and it should turn into a lilac color when completed. It will have the same consistency._

He looked up at her, his face expressionless, "What _exactly_ does this potion do Miss Granger?"

"Well hopefully when it's complete it will heal and reverse the damage to the nerve cells of Cruciatus victims."

He handed back the parchment, "Complete?"

Hermione nodded, "My Arithmancy calculations tell me that there is one more ingredient to add, but I need to do a few more experiments to see if my hypotheses are correct. It should be what I'm looking for, but I still need to do the calculations to be sure. I want an eighty percent positive before I brew the test potions," she explained.

He nodded in understanding, "What are these ingredients?"

Hermione cursed herself, "I'll tell you as soon as I figure that out Professor."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but let it go for now. "How do you expect to test this potion Miss Granger, as I don't think you are going to go around casting Crucio on small rodents?" he probed.

"I'm not sure yet sir, but I will do what I must in order to see if it works. This potion has been my life for three years, and I'll be damned if I'm going to stop because there aren't any victims of the curse."

He looked into the fire for a moment; his forehead creased as if thinking hard. After a few minutes he finally turned back to her, "What if I volunteered myself?"

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><p>A bit of a cliffe, but not as bad as a few chapters ago!<p>

Reviews are extremely appreciated. I would love for all the lurkers out there to give me their opinions. :-D


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone! Here is chapter 9, with lots of Severus/Hermione interaction. I am going on vacation tomorrow and probably won't be able to post for 2 weeks, but its okay because absence makes the heart grow fonder...right?

Thank you all who reviewed, you really do help me get inspired by your wonderful suggestions and comments.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

Hermione sat still for a few moments dumbfounded. Why would he trust her so willingly if the potion wasn't even completed yet?

She cleared her throat and looked straight at him. He seemed to be reconsidering his earlier decision to offer himself as a lab rat. "Sir, I'm just a bit confused. Why would you volunteer yourself for a potion that was not finished and made by a person still in school?"

He gave her a icy look, "Miss Granger the motives are my own, and if you do not want my assistance than I shall leave," he growled as he rose from the chair and headed towards the door.

"Professor Snape," she called while rising rapidly from her chair to rush out of the room and follow him. He got as far as the outer hallway, and was about to turn the corner and vanish out of sight when she shouted to explain herself, "I can't just cast an Unforgivable on you!"

He stopped dead in his tracks and spun around slowly. Hermione reduced her pace and walked the rest of the distance to stand in front of him.

"Miss Granger if you think I would request that of you, then obviously you think me senseless," he stated with a glare.

She stood there, confusion still evident on her face, "Sir, how am I to test a potion on a person who doesn't have any of the complications it's supposed to fix?"

He exhaled noisily in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Obviously she was missing something, but after a moment of thought it abruptly dawned on her. Her expression of disbelief and astonishment darted across her face, "I had no idea."

"Clearly that is evident Miss Granger in your lack of deduction skills," he said looking down at her.

She looked at him humiliated that she didn't catch it sooner, "Can we please go back to the lab, I have no desire to speak of this out in the open," she asked. He looked around quickly before giving a curt affirmation and requesting her to lead the way.

They reached the portrait again and she poured the silver liquid into the nymph's hands to enter. A few seconds later the entrance appeared and they stepped through into the laboratory. "Shall we go into the office or sit on the stools out here?" she asked.

He looked towards the stools, "In the office I think, the stools are much more uncomfortable than the chairs, and I don't really want to be less comfortable under the circumstances."

She gave a small frown and headed to the office door. She motioned to the chairs so he could sit down, and strode behind her desk and grabbed the small notebook she found there. She joined him at the fire, but before he could get a word in she called for a house elf.

The little creature popped into the room, "What can I do for Miss?" he asked as he bowed so low his nose touched the floor.

"May we please have some tea and sandwiches for lunch?" she asked the elf, who nodded, and was gone with a _Pop_.

"Miss Granger, I did not request lunch," he said with a long-suffering groan.

Hermione just gave him a pointed look, "Sir I was planning on having lunch a Grimmauld Place, but as I am here discussing this with you I no longer have the time. I think that we can multitask a bit," she said as a tray of sandwiches and tea appeared on the table between them.

He shook his head noticeably irritated as she picked up one of the sandwiches and started eating it, "Sir, I want this potion to work to the best of its ability, so I'm going to have to ask you a few questions about your…ailment…if that's okay?"

His gaze narrowed, "What sort of questions Miss Granger," he demanded distrust palpable in this tone.

"Well, let me just ask them. If you feel comfortable responding then that's fine, if you don't…then…don't," she clarified not entirely sure of herself.

He cleared his throat and nodded for her to continue.

She opened the notebook and penned a few things before she began. Looking up at him she asked her first question, "How old are you precisely, I need months and days as well."

His stiffened, "I hardly see why that is pertinent information Miss Granger," he argued.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes warily, "I need to know in case this potion needs to be adapted for different ages Sir, and I hardly see the problem in giving me something as simple as your date of birth."

He looked at her like she was insane but after a moment of thinking answered, "As of today I am thirty-seven years, five months, and thirteen days old. Would you like the hours, minutes, and seconds as well?" he asked sardonically.

She grinned sarcastically sweet at him and shook her head, "No that was acceptable Sir," she replied before asking the next question, "How long have you had the pain due to the curse?"

He appeared like he didn't want to reply but spoke after a few moments, "Eighteen years. Would you like the months and days as well?" he replied mockingly.

Hermione nearly dropped her quill, and gaped at him in astonishment.

He scowled at her, "Please close your mouth Miss Granger, it is most unflattering," he said snidely.

She snapped her jaw shut, and wrote down his answer before asking the next question, "What is the intensity of the pain and where is it located on your body?"

His facial expression turned to one of extreme uneasiness, but he heaved a sigh and began, "This is a very situational question Miss Granger. On a standard day, which I can't accurately describe, I ache in most of my joints."

She gave a withering glare, "I'm going to need you to be a bit more detailed. Which joints? On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain? How long is a normal day from the last curse cast?" she prodded.

He grumbled visibly not appreciating the discussion, and as an alternative to replying right away he bought himself some time and picked up a sandwich. Taking a large bite and chewing unhurriedly to draw out the moment of peace.

She smirked and poured herself a cup of tea, adding some milk and sugar to it. She turned to him after taking a taste, "I understand your uneasiness Professor, but I truly do need to know these things before I test the potion on you."

He nodded and swallowed the portion of sandwich that was in his mouth, "I realize that Miss Granger, but it doesn't make it any easier. Perhaps you could work on the potion and give me the list of questions you would like answered. It would be stress-free that way, for myself and you," he proposed.

She thought through about his proposition for a minute before nodding in agreement. "Okay I'll make the list of questions for you," she said rising from her chair and walking over to the desk in the corner. She took about five minutes to write everything down on a piece of parchment. When she handed him the paper he was helping himself to a cup of tea.

"I'm going to go brew the base of the potion right now, as it needs at least forty-eight hours before the next step…" she told him as she headed towards the door, "…but first I need to go over to the green houses to pick up a few of the Bonsai Whomping Willows I need to make it.

Without saying a word he put the list of questions in his pocket and rose from the chair. She followed his movements with her eyes and looked at him quizzically as he stopped in front of her. He looked a bit uncomfortable for a second before saying, "I would like to see the plants."

Hermione grinned and nodded her consent. He would never ask her straight out if he could join her, but that was as good as asking. She walked out of the lab and into the hallway. He closed the door behind him, and it vanished into the wall. It took a few minutes to get to the first floor, but soon they were outside and heading towards Greenhouse Number Six. Professor Sprout had given Hermione permission to grow her plants there as it was the safest of the eight. The wards were erected all year, and the temperature and climate could be changed to a specific plant in the portion she used.

When they stepped outside the high temperature hit her and she took off the small jumper she had been wearing over her tank top. She had known the dungeons would be chilly even in summer, and decided to be proactive. They walked for about five minutes before they saw the greenhouses come into view, "You must be boiling in that frockcoat Professor," she said as they reached the door.

He glared at her, "I'm perfectly fine Miss Granger," he said coldly as they walked into the still hotter greenhouse. She just shook her head and walked over to her plants. There were rows of five trees, and there were thirty trees in total. They were all sitting still except for a small fidget every now and then.

Professor Snape looked at them with curiosity and extended his hand to touch one. The petite plant attacked with as much fervor as its larger counterpart, and he pulled back sharply, "How do you collect what you need if they attack you?"

She stepped up with her wand at the ready, "Remember how you get into the Whomping Willow on the grounds without being attack?" she asked.

He nodded, "The knot," he confirmed.

She prodded the closest plant with her wand hitting the proper knot. The little tree stopped its fight and straightened up frozen in place.

She picked it up and passed it to her professor. He took it cautiously and observed it carefully reaching for and touching the bark and some leaves.

"I need two of them to get enough bark for the potion," she explained as she poked the next one with the tip of her wand. "I need 564 grams of bark to obtain enough of the crucial chemical to make the residual pain subside," she told him as she picked up the other plant and started walking towards the greenhouse door.

"How long will they stay stunned like this?" he asked undoubtedly not loving the idea of having to fight off the pint-sized tree on his walk back to the lab.

She giggled silently to herself, "It depends on which one the size and age of them matter, but looking at yours…" she said glancing at his tree, "…about thirty more seconds."

He spun around abruptly and Hermione nearly collided with him, "What Miss Granger, pray tell, happens in…twenty seconds?"

She smiled at him, "Just hit the knot again and it will freeze for another five minutes," she said before walking past him to lead the way up to the castle. She glanced over her shoulder to find her professor holding the plant at arm's length from his body, poised and ready to attack the knot when the moment arose. She waited about ten more seconds before the tree burst into life. He tried to reach for the knot, but his hand was knocked away before he could push it. It wound up hitting the top of his hand pretty hard and left a large red mark.

He dropped the offending plant on the ground, but before he could kick it like he wanted Hermione's voice stopped him, "Professor Snape! Do not kick my plant…please," she requested as she walked back to him and put her plant on the ground. He was holding his injured hand close to his body and glaring daggers at the tree and its creator.

She removed her wand from her sleeve and prodded the plant until it stopped its fighting. She picked up both plants, one in each arm before walking back towards the castle again, Professor Snape following behind grudgingly.

They made their way back into the castle and down into the dungeons, and walking another few minutes they were in front of the nymph again. Hermione turned around and offered the smaller of the plants for him to hold while she poured the silver liquid into the nymph's hands but was greeted with a snarl. She rolled her eyes and placed the plant on the floor instead. After giving the nymph what it requested they stepped into the lab. Hermione head over to the wooden bench and placed both plants down.

She turned around and saw her professor standing there with a sneer on his face, "May I see your hand Professor?" she asked while walking over to him.

He glared at her, "I'm fine Miss Granger, leave me be."

She rolled her eyes at his stubbornness and held out her hand until he pulled it away from his body and showed her. She pulled out her wand and mentally thanked Ginny for her Medical Reseach, "_Malum Severitas,_" she said and his hand glowed orange. The tree had fractured his knuckle bone.

She gestured for him to take a seat on one of the stools, and after muttering something about Know-it-All Gryffindors and their trees, took a seat in the stool closest to him. She placed his hand flat on the table top and pointed her wand at it, "Miss Granger, if the bones in my hand are missing after this I will personally make sure that Gryffindor starts out at negative three-hundred points this year," he said deadly serious.

She smirked at him, "Then make sure not to move your hand Professor," she replied cheekily. "This may hurt a little, _Brackium Emendo,"_ she whispered and his hand glowed for a brief moment before the spell died down. He lifted his hand from the table and flexed his fingers. Nodding in satisfaction he turned towards the plants a few feet from him, they had started moving again.

He nodded towards them, "How do you make the base?"

She moved towards them, "The Bonsai Willow must not have any spells cast on it in order for this potion to work. This includes when the plant is being grown, as well as during brewing. Any spell cast _near_ them must be low level, but no spell casting is best," she explained when she reached them. That's why I couldn't stun them to stop them from moving, I must use the knot," she added as she poked both, effectively stopping them for another five minutes.

He sat on the stool listening and watching the process as she went about making the base.

She removed each one from its pot and moved them to the sink in the corner of the room to remove the dirt from the roots. "When you're brewing the potion, in case of emergency where a higher level spell must be cast add a small amount of Dried Manticore Skin into it to repel the magic. If this ingredient is not added before the spell is cast the potion will become unstable and explode."

He raised his eyebrow, "You sound as if you're talking from experience Miss Granger," he probed.

Hermione nodded and placed the trees on the wood counter and got a large metal container from under one of the drawers. She then walked to her storage room walked in and grabbed a few more ingredients she would need.

"If you like you can peel the bark off the other one after I show you how?" she asked. He thought about it for a moment before nodding and watching her peel the bark off with what could only be described as an extreme vegetable peeler. After she was done peeling she chopped up the rest of the plant into smaller cubes and placed them in a clean jar. She then labeled it and placed it next to her on the bench. "I'm not sure what to use the rest for, but I imagine I'll find something eventually," she explained gesturing to the jar.

He stood up from his stool and walked over to the now wiggling depotted plant on the wood counter. Hermione nodded her consent and he picked up the peeler. "I would stun it first professor," she said as she pulled out a muggle weighing scale.

He took out his wand and poked the knot before peeling the bark off the way Hermione had. When he was done he added it to the pile with her bark and chopped up the rest of the plant to add to the jar.

She placed the bark into the scale until it read 564 grams. She then took the metal container she had pulled out earlier and placed them in it. He watched her curiously as she walked into the store room and came back with a large container of Horklump Juice. She carefully measured out eight cups and added it to the bark. She stepped back and cast protective spell over it. She cast _Tempus_ and noted it was 5:27 in the evening. Her stomach rumbled on queue telling her it was dinner time.

"This must soak for at least forty-eight hours professor. I check on it every twenty-four just in case. If you like you can come back and watch me brew the rest of the base?" she offered while cleaning up the areas they had worked in.

He nodded, "That sounds acceptable Miss Granger, I shall see you then," he said curtly and stepped out of the lab.

When she was done cleaning, and had made sure that the bark was okay she stepped to the fireplace in her office and pulled out a pouch of floo powder from inside her pocket. She poured some into her palm and threw it into the flames, instantly turning them green, "Grimmauld Place," she called and in a flash of color she was gone.

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><p>Hope You enjoyed. See you in a couple of weeks! 3<p>

Reviews are truly appreciated and they keep me going!


	10. Chapter 10

Hello everyone. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've had a pretty intense month. Anyway I hope you enjoy this update, it goes into Severus a bit as well as develops the relationship between Tonks and Remus as well as Hermione and Remus.

There are many people that read this fanfiction, and the amount of reviews I get is disappointing. One of the major reasons I haven't updated in a while was a lack of response. I love reading the reviews I get, whether they be complementing, flaming, or constructive criticism. PLEASE I beg of you they are what keeps me wanting to write more. I take any ideas and suggestions into mind, and more often then not incorporate them into my story because most of the time it makes this fiction better. Please take two minutes out of you day and review, it would mean the world to me.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I just like playing with JK's characters.

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><p>Chapter 10<p>

Severus stepped out into the hallway and looked around briefly before allowing his shoulders to relax. In front of students he was always rigid and stern, but it certainly did nothing to help the pain in his already aching joints. He started to walk, but turned around and gave a brief nod to the wood nymph in the portrait. She smiled at him in greeting before going back to picking the berries in the bush next to her. As he continued down the hallway he could see the deer following him out of the corner of his eye until he turned right into a hall that held no pictures. The little creature looked after him until he disappeared into the dark dungeons completely.

He liked to walk around the dungeons when he needed to think. For some reason the cool darkness helped him sort out everything in his head.

Eighteen years. He still remembered the first time that damned curse hit him.

_Flashback_

He stood in the center of a large oval room with stone walls and marble floors. The lights were dim around him and he could not make out what lie beyond the circle of masked figures surrounding him. A large throne like chair was in front of him, and sitting in that was the nightmare of a man that he chose to join in his youth.

The Dark Lord rose from his throne and took a step closer to the young man, "Severusss, why have you failed me again?"

Severus had to keep from trembling as he looked up from the floor, "My lord, I sincerely apologize. The girl was not at her house when we arrived. My information must have been planted, but I swear on my life that they said they were meeting at eight that evening," he explained his voice wavering slightly towards the end.

"Because of your absence of intelligence we lost two loyal followers to the aurors!" he shouted as he pulled his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at the quivering young man, "Do you have anything else to defend yourself Severusss?"

He knew it was coming, it was the Dark Lord's favorite form of punishment, and he braced himself as he shook his head. He didn't hear the spell being cast, but he certainly felt it. He collapsed to the ground in a heap writhing in pain, trying not to make any noise. He would not let himself be broken, only lesser men screamed.

The Dark Lord had held that curse for at least five minutes before he deemed the punishment acceptable. Severus could barely pick his head up off the ground when the torture was over. Any amount of pain that he had known before had been absolutely nothing when compared to Voldemort's Cruciatus curse. He vaguely heard the Dark Lord tell two others to remove him from the room before he passed out from the residual pain.

When he awoke he found himself in the hall outside of the meeting room. He had no idea how long he had laid there, nor did he care. He just wanted to get home and go to sleep in a bed. He dragged himself off the floor and stood shakily on his feet. He stumbled to the apparition point, and thought as clearly as he could about his destination.

_Crack._ He looked up hoping that he had landed near his anticipated location and was semi-pleased to see that he was ten feet from the Spinner's End home door. He would have been slightly more satisfied if the apparition didn't cause him to want to retch. He sluggishly walked up to it and placed his hand on the door knob, waiting for the wards to recognize him. He heard the faint click and opened the door gently. The house was dark, but he knew his way without looking.

The stairs creaked beneath him as he slowly but surely climbed the stairs and made his way to the bathroom. When he reached the toilet he collapsed to his knees and vomited everything in his stomach, which wasn't much. After about five minutes of heaving his intestines out of his body he stood up and stepped to the sink. He leaned on it heavily as he turned on the water and splashed his face with it. He then cupped one of his hands and washed his mouth out. He leaned there for a few more minutes before standing up straight and taking off his clothing.

When he was completely devoid of clothing, he stepped into the shower and turned the water as hot as it would go. The water started out ice cold as it warmed up and gradually became blistering. He stood under the stream for what seemed like hours before he turned it off and got out. Wandlessly summoning a towel to himself, he dried off and wrapped it around his waist before going back into the hallway.

He walked past the door to his parents' bedroom, which hadn't been opened in over a year. His mother had died at the end of his sixth year, and unfortunately his father hadn't died until the end of his seventh.

He continued walking down the dark, cold, and plain hallway until he reached the last door on the right. Opening the door revealed a small room with only a bed, wardrobe, and small bedside table with a lamp on it. He dragged himself to the twin sized mattress and collapsed in a heap on top.

He laid there awake for hours trying to ignore the pain radiating from his nerves before finally succumbing to peaceful oblivion.

_End Flashback_

As he came back to reality he found himself in front of door to his quarters. Grabbing the door knob he let himself in after being recognized and looked around for a minute trying to decide whether the desk or couch would be more comfortable. After looking at the cluttered desktop he decided, and headed towards the couch. He sat down heavily on the black leather and let out a sigh of relief.

Sitting there staring into the fire he recalled that many times he thought about ending his life to stop the pain. Eighteen years was a long time to have this sort of agony, but the call of duty kept him for gaining the peace he wanted.

Reaching into his pocket he felt for the folded up piece of parchment with the questions that that insufferable Know-it-All had wanted him to answer. He unfolded it and summoned a quill and inkpot to himself. He looked at the list; reading each of the thirty questions and feeling his mood gradually decrease in contentment after each one. Rolling his eyes after reading number twenty-two and being asked to give his blood type if known he rolled his eyes and started at the beginning.

When Hermione stepped out of the green flames she was greeted by a kitchen table full of people. She looked around for an empty chair and walked towards Ginny to take the seat beside her. Mrs. Weasley shuffled over and placed a plate in front of her, "Tuck in dear."

There were many different conversations going on at one time during dinner, but instead of joining in Hermione decided to just listen.

"…Ministry officials still have no idea why it happened," Mr. Weasley said to Remus who nodded and responded, "I seriously doubt that the Ministry has no idea, but what can we do about it?" Hermione turned to the next conversation.

"…hasn't been a better seeker in over thirty years and you know it Harry," said Ginny before she took another bite of beef stew. Harry gave her a skeptical look before turning to Ron and discussing the beaters on the Chudley Cannons.

"…trying a new idea, it's a notebook that picks up on the voice of those around them and writes down the conversation," Fred explained to Tonks who nodded in understanding before gesturing for him to continue.

Eating her own portion of beef stew, she started to think about the day's course of events. She knew that Professor Snape had to be in more pain than he was letting on. She was pretty sure that he was held under that curse for extended periods of time at least once a month. If her calculations were correct than he should have been driven insane by the sheer amount of residual pain, but he seemed to hold himself normally. I guess his normal makes a little bit more sense if she thought about it. She would be angry and irritable too if she felt radiating pain from her joints for the last eighteen years of her life.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a voice, "You're being awfully quiet."

She looked up to see Sirius observing her, a worried look on his face. She smiled at him reassuringly, "I was just thinking."

He grinned, "Well we know that's never a good sign," he said and successfully dodged the pea that she had thrown towards his head. "What were you thinking about Kitten?"

She pondered for a second deciding on how much to tell him, "Potions."

"Could of guessed that," he replied with a cheeky grin, before his expression turned serious, "Minerva came by today around two o'clock. She said that your parents are getting on well in the safe house."

Hermione looked up suddenly from her bowl of stew, her eyes wide, "Did she say she is coming back? I wanted to give my parents a letter, telling them a few things."

He nodded, "She said she'd be back in a couple of days, and that she had to do a few things for Hogwarts."

Hermione stood up from the table and banished her plate and cup of pumpkin juice to the sink with a flick of her wand, "Thanks Sirius, I'm going to go write that letter. I'll be in the library if anyone needs me." He nodded in acknowledgement before turning to join the conversation Mr. Weasley was having with Remus.

She walked up the stairs trying to be stealthy as she passed the portrait of Mrs. Black. She wanted to tell her parents about the development of her potion, and that she was extremely grateful that they had gone without much fuss to the safe house. She couldn't even begin to imagine just how much it would affect her if she lost them.

She stepped through the oak library doors and walked over to the dark cherry desk in the corner. She opened the second drawer on the right and pulled out a piece of parchment and some ink. After summoning a quill to herself and dipping it in the ink she took a moment to figure out what she wanted to say.

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I hope everything at the new house is good. You have no idea how much safer you are now that you are in an unplottable home. I also know you wish me there with you, but in order to continue with my potion that would be impossible, they need me here. I now have a person willing to help me test my potion, and hopefully it will help him and lessen his pain. I love the both of you so much and I will write again soon._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

She read over the short note again and satisfied she sealed it in an envelope and put it in her pocket. She decided to stay in the library for a while and catch up on some of her reading.

She didn't know how long she sat there, but the next time she looked at the clock on the mantel it was 1:12 in the morning. She marked her place in _Magical Maladies_ and shrunk it to store inside her pocket. She rose from her chair and stretched, allowing the muscles in her back to loosen before she headed to the door. She stepped into the hallway and started to head upstairs but was stopped by two voices coming from below, and the voices were not talking quietly. Deciding that sleep could wait a bit longer to sleep, she crept quietly down the staircase and towards the voices. As the voices grew louder their owners' came into view, Remus and Tonks were arguing.

"Remus, you can't keep telling me it was not my fault when it was," Tonks cried, "That family was given to me…I was the one those boys were told to contact, and I couldn't get their quick enough." She seemed to deflate and sat down on top of the table, her legs swinging. "I should have just gone their alone and tried to help them myself after sending you a patronus …"

Remus looked on helplessly, "Dora…you would have been killed with the family if you had rushed in by yourself," he tried explaining to her in a soft tone.

Tonks hopped off the table and stalked over to the fireplace, throwing some powder in, "Maybe it would have been better if I had…" she said as she stepped into the flames.

Remus moved towards the fireplace as an attempt to stop her from leaving, "Dora, pleas-," but she disappeared a second later cutting off his plea.

Remus sighed in exasperation looking at the spot Tonks had stood a moment before, "Dammit!" he yelled. He roughly lowered himself into one of the chairs and slammed his fist on the surface of the table before covering his face with both hands.

Hermione chose that moment to make her presence known. She stepped into the kitchen and flicked her wand at a teapot which started brewing a fresh pot of tea. Remus still hadn't looked up, but she knew that he could tell it was her, if not by her scent than by her unique sounds. A minute later she sat down next to Remus and poured him a cup of steamy liquid before making a cup for herself.

They sat there in silence for another couple of minutes before Remus finally lowered his hands to the cup and picked it up. He took a taste and gave Hermione a small smile, "Thanks."

She gave him a small grin and nod in return, "Anything I can do to help?"

He shook his head and stared miserably down at the tea, as if it would tell him the answers to his problems, "She won't let me close enough to help her. I have no idea why, she has never been like this. Is there some strange female thing that is escaping my notice?"

Hermione chuckled a little before replying in a serious but comforting tone, "I think she believes everyone blames her for what happened." Remus looked at her horrified and opened his mouth to respond but Hermione continued, "I know you don't think that Remus, and no one else does either. I think you should actually tell her that though. She will probably deny that she is thinking that, but just watch how she looks at everyone, as if waiting for judgment to fall."

Remus nodded in understanding, "I noticed that look too, but I had no idea what she was thinking." He finished off his tea and rose from the table, "Thank you Hermione, should I go find her or give her some space?"

She thought for a moment trying to think what she would want in this situation, "Go find her, she is probably beating herself up over this and I think she needs someone that will listen to her and comfort her. Just remember what I told you, and tell her that it is not true."

Remus smiled and headed over to the fireplace, "Okay, I'll find her. Wish me luck and thank you…for everything." He threw some powder into the fire and was on the trail of Tonks a second later.

Hermione watched the green flames turn back to orange and sat there for a few minutes more to finish her tea. She headed out of the kitchen after cleaning up the cups and kettle and headed up to her bed. After slipping into her nightclothes she snuggled into the warm covers, "_Nox._"

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><p>Please Review! :-D<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Hello My Wonderful Readers! I hope as is going well. Here is the next chapter with more Hermione/Severus interaction! Now just as a disclaimer, she may seem more at ease with him in this chapter, but you must remember that they are equals are members of the Order and during breaks as he is not her professor officially. He is still cold and nasty but she dishes it back.

Now I know that 3,000 people read this story, and that is quite a lot of people. I received 4 reviews for the last chapter...four. Reviews are one of the main things that keeps this story coming as they inspire me. PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP...Review. I am literally begging you guys. All I want it 15 reviews...that is nothing (1/2% of my readers). I love my reviews and thank you to all that have reviewed. I take everything that you guys say to heart and I think your ideas make this story better. So please make the reviews constructive or at least tell me what you liked or didn't. They are what I look forward to reading everyday.

Disclaimer: I own noting of this magical world.

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><p>Chapter 11<p>

The next afternoon Hermione could be found eating a ham sandwich and sipping a cup of tea at the kitchen table of Grimmauld Place. She was casually reading _Magical Maladies_ and taking some notes. She stopped reading when someone cleared their throat in hopes to get her attention. She looked up to find Harry watching at her expectantly.

Harry grinned sheepishly at her, "Am I interrupting something important or can I talk to you for a few minutes?" he asked glancing at the seat across from her. She smiled warmly at him and gestured to join her at the table.

She placed her notes in the book as a marker and closed it. Turning her full attention to Harry she asked, "Is everything alright?"

He started to nod, but then changed his mind halfway through the motion, "No Hermione, I feel kind of awful to tell you the truth. I keep seeing you and Ginny reading and studying and preparing for this war that we are all in. I guess I've been trying to avoid the entire situation, but I have finally realized…I am a large part of this war…I need to prepare for it," he finished his explanation in a determined voice.

Hermione grinned at him, "I can't really blame you for that Harry…I know that if I were destined to defeat Voldemort myself I may try and deny it for as long as possible."

Harry nodded, "Thanks Hermione…," he looked at her like he wanted to ask something, but was not sure if he should.

She noticed and raised a questioning eyebrow in his direction, "Yes?"

He grinned, "Is there any way that you could help me like you helped Ginny? I know she really has taken to all of the medical things she's been reading," he asked as he gestured to the book next to her. "Actually the other day, we were playing Quidditch and Ron's leg got clobbered by a bludger and fractured his thigh bone. She just went over to him, and like it was nothing…healed it," he explained sounding a little awed. "It doesn't need to be medical, but maybe spell work…as you seem to be the best at that," he finished.

She nodded in understanding, "I would love to help you out, maybe we can practice dueling each other sometime? I can look up defensive and offensive spells in my spare time that could be useful…you could do the same," she offered before she took a bite of her sandwich.

Harry nodded enthusiastically at her, "That sounds wonderful Hermione, I'm going to go upstairs to search the library for something suitable we can use," he said as he rose from his seat. "I will tell you if I find anything beneficial after the Order meeting tonight, okay?" he explained as he headed towards the kitchen door.

"Sure thing Harry," she responded as he disappeared and headed towards the staircase. She cast _Tempus_ and saw it was two in the afternoon. The order meeting was at seven tonight so she calculated that she had around two hours before she needed to go to the lab to check on her base and prepare some ingredients for the next step.

She reopened her book and continued to jot down things she found important. It was only when Mrs. Weasley came in to start dinner that she realized it was close to four. She shook her head to herself, '_I really need to stop losing track of time when reading.'_

She rose from the table and sent her dishes to the sink so they could clean themselves, "Hello Mrs. Weasley, I'm going to Hogwarts for a few hours, but I'll be back for the Order meeting."

Mrs. Weasley gave her a nod while she pulled out the pots and pans she would need to cook with, "All right dear, just remember the meeting is at seven, try not to lose track of time."

"I won't," Hermione said as she stepped to the fireplace to throw some floo powder in. She stepped into the green flames and was standing in her office a moment later. She stepped out of the grate and vanished the ash off her clothes with a quick flick of her hand.

Turning around to look at the fireplace she frowned, she wanted her floo connection to be secure and it certainly wasn't now as anyone could floo in. She stepped back for a moment and activated a ward that would key anyone that wanted to make a floo call through her office, but only she and the Headmaster would be allowed to floo in. Nodding in satisfaction she made her way to the lab to check on her base.

She slipped a brown leather notebook out of her pocket and cast and enlargement charm on it; she then flipped to the notes concerning the base of the potion. According to the notes after forty-eight hours the potion would be golden in color and have the consistency of gelatin. She moved the container with the bark in it slightly after verifying the color was correct for the twenty-four hour mark. The liquid was semi-solid and was a good consistency. She recorded the data down in a new section of her notebook and jotted down a few more things such as smell and the condition of the bark itself.

Once she was satisfied with her notes she moved to the storage room to grab a few ingredients she wanted to prepare before the next step, as she was not sure the amount of time she would have tomorrow evening. She grabbed a box of moonstones, porcupine quills, valerian root, and a small piece of unicorn horn.

After placing the items back on the table she reached into the drawer she knew held silver knives and pulled out a medium sized one. She also pulled out a ceramic mortar and pestle for the valerian roots, which would need to be ground into a fine paste.

Just as she was about to star grinding up the root she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Startled she whipped around with her wand in hand ready to cast a hex. She noticed on the wall above the sink was a portrait of a meadow that had not been there a second ago. The wood nymph was gesturing towards the main door to the lab.

Hermione looked towards the closed door and frowned, "Is there someone at the door?" she asked in a confused voice. The nymph gave a small nod. Hermione walked over to the door and cast a ward on it, which alerted her that Professor Snape was on the other side. Slightly befuddled she turned the knob and saw that her professor was indeed waiting rather impatiently for her to open it.

He gave her a look of annoyance before greeting her, "Miss Granger please figure out a better way to be informed that you have guests waiting," he said with a sneer before stepping past her into the lab.

She rolled her eyes, "Good evening Professor, please come in…" she replied sarcastically before closing the door. "I wasn't expecting anyone to visit me tonight, so I apologize for being unprepared for your imminent arrival to my lab," she added before walking back over to the ingredients that she had spread out to be prepared.

He walked over to the base and eyed it apprehensively, "Should it look like it is coagulating like sour milk Miss Granger, or have you destroyed it?" he asked sarcastically.

Hermione had been grinding the root trying to ignore his clearly mocking demeanor, but she would not take being insulted in her own lab, "Professor Snape! Please refrain from insulting the potion and its appearance as it is supposed to look that way. I would also like to request that you do not insult my intelligence in my own lab, as I am not you student right now. In fact I am trying to help you, so please have a seat on one of the stools and calmly tell me why you are here…please," she finished as she gestured to a stool on the other side of the table she was working on.

He gave her a look of pure loathing before reaching into his frock coat pocket and pulling out a rolled up parchment. He sat on the stool she had indicated and held out the parchment for her to take. Confused she reached for it and placed it next to her, "As I'm busy preparing ingredients for the next step would you be kind enough to tell me what it is?"

"Miss Granger, why would I give you something and then waste my breath on telling you what it is when you can just look for yourself," he asked in a cynical tone.

She stopped grinding the roots and looked at him, "Sir, if you are just going to insult me while you're here, make yourself useful and grind up two teaspoons worth of Moonstone for the next part of the potion please."

He gave her a look of disbelief, "Did you just order to prepare potions ingredients Miss Granger? Because I may not be your Professor right now, but that does not mean you can order me around like the two idiot buffoons you call best friends," he said as he reached for the box of Moonstones.

"I would never order you to do anything Professor, and I said please…that must count for something," she replied before she reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a second mortar and pestle. She placed it in front of him and returned to her roots.

"Miss Granger, this mortar and pestle is ceramic, Moonstone must be ground in a silver instrument," he said to her in a way that made her feel like she had just handed him a cheese grater instead of the proper instrument. She just sighed in exasperation and turned the notebook to the correct page before sliding it across the table for him to look at.

After reading he looked at her, one eyebrow raised in question, "What are you using to counteract the poison the silver is supposed to eliminate, and why is the poison even needed in this potion?" he asked his normally cold voice tinged slightly with curiosity.

"The poison actually helps bring out the healing properties of the Hellebore syrup, and to purify it afterwards a small amount of Unicorn Horn is added."

"How long did it take you to think of and create this potion?"

"Well…," she said thinking for a moment, "the idea came to me right before the OWLs, but I had wanted to create this potion ever since I saw Neville's face when Crouch was using the Cruciatus Curse in front of him."

He continued to flip through her notes for another fifteen minutes before picking up the Moonstones grinding them into a powder.

Once she was satisfied the roots were the correct consistency she retrieved a small glass vial from one of the cupboards. She carefully scraped the paste into the container and cleaned the mortar and pestle with a flick of her wand. She looked over to Professor Snape, where he seemed to be giving all of his attention to the now pebble like Moonstone. Satisfied that he wasn't going to mess it up, he was a potion's master after all, she moved on to the unicorn horn. She carefully measured the weight of the tiny piece of horn on the scale she pulled out from a drawer. Unicorn horn was an extremely expensive and rare ingredient to be using, but a necessary one. Only a small amount was needed, one-third of a teaspoon, and she didn't want to waste any.

Once she was satisfied with the weight of the piece she pulled out a gold mortar and pestle. The magic in her lab always awed her to no end, it almost made her think of asking it for galleons, but felt that it would be using her resource inconsiderately. She knew that the castle around her was sentient to a point and she did not want to upset it.

She was just about to start grinding when Professor Snape interrupted her, "I have no idea what you did to get this lab, but I will be speaking to Albus about it. I see no reason why a student should receive the resources you apparently have…," he said pointing to the gold instrument, "…while the potion's professor of this school does not."

She just grinned at him before returning to her work, "I did not ask for the specialized function of this lab. I would have been perfectly happy in a normal lab and just borrowing tools when I needed them…besides this doesn't need to be ground in gold I just chose it because it was an option. If I have the option which is best…who am I to refuse it?"

He snorted in disbelief, "Insufferable twit."

"Insufferable maybe…but a twit?" she asked with a smirk on her face.

He rose from his stool and walked over to the cupboard where she had gotten the clean vial for the roots, "Yes, a twit," he said coolly as he placed the moonstone in the clean container and stoppered it with a cork. "I hope that this backtalk continues when the school year begins, as it would be my pleasure to remove as many points from Gryffindor as possible."

"Well, I live to make your life harder sir, so I shall be extremely cordial and polite whenever I speak with you, come the start of term," she said sweetly. She finished grinding up the Unicorn Horn and placed it in a similar vial the Moonstone had been placed it. She cleaned up the work area and shrunk her notebook to be placed in her pocket. She looked up to find Professor Snape still standing there observing the drawers and cabinets around him. Every few feet he would open one and then close it trying to memorize the placement of the tools and instruments around the room.

She cast a quick _Tempus_ and was told that it was 6:50 PM, "Well sir, the Order meeting is in ten minutes…I am flooing through my office back to headquarters," she told him indicating the way to her office.

He glared at her, "Am I to assume you want me to leave while you are not here?"

"Yes," she said with a smile, "-it is my lab after all, but by all means you may use my fireplace to get to headquarters if you wish."

He glared daggers in her general direction before making his way into her office. He threw a small amount of powder in and was gone in a cloud of ash; Hermione followed him a second later.

She was greeted by a kitchen full of people. She maneuvered through the crowd until she found an empty seat between George and Remus and plopped down between them.

She turned to Fred after a moment, remembering a conversation she overheard Fred and Tonks having, "Hey George?"

"Yes my dear little sister…?" he replied. Fred and George had taken to called her little sister as a joke when Ron and she dated briefly, and the name stuck after that.

"Fred was talking to Tonks the other day…about a special notebook you were working on?" she asked.

He nodded in understanding and gestured for her to continue.

"Well, I was thinking it could be really useful in my lab, as my potion requires a lot of hands on preparation while brewing, and if I could speak to a notebook it would be a lot easier than having to write everything down," she explained.

"Well little sis, today is your lucky day…we just got out the last kinks and it is going on sale next week. You can come by a pick one up free of charge, or I could bring one to you the next time we see each other?"

She smiled, "Thanks George I will probably be able to come pick it up sometime next week."

Just then Professor Dumbledore walked in and sat at the head of the table. The chatting that had been persistent a moment before disappeared.

"Thank you all for coming to this meeting. I have both good news and bad news to relay to you tonight. The good news first…," he started as he took out a piece of parchment from his robes.  
>"The Ministry has agreed to let the Order place wards on Muggleborn homes that would provide them more protection from Deatheater attacks. According to the agreement, the wards are activated through detection of the Dark Mark and will alert both aurors at the Ministry and select members of the Order," he explained as he gestured to the paper. "The people in the Order will be alerted by an idea that Miss Granger implemented on the behalf of her family's protection," he said as he pulled out a coin from his pocket. "These coins will increase in warmth until they are noticed and the address and name of the family will be written on the coin."<p>

Mad-eye who had been actively listening in the corner spoke up, "How many of us will have the coin, and how many Ministry officials will have it?" he asked.

"All members of the Order that work in the auror department will have a coin, that includes Tonks, Kinglsey, and yourself Alastor," Dumbledore answered.

Apparently not completely satisfied Mad-eye continued, "Who else, I don't want there to be only three of us against a Deatheater attack," he said gruffly.

Dumbledore held up his hand, "I will pass out the coins to the members now if you wish Alastor," he said as he pulled out a small pouch of coins. He began with Minerva to his right and continued to pass them out to Tonks, Kinglsey, Mad-eye, Remus, Sirius, Mr. Weasley, and Severus.

At the last person Mad-eye spoke, "You can't trust Snape with one of these coins Albus. If you give one to him you might as well give one to Voldemort as well," he argued.

Snape accepted the coin and placed it in his pocket without a word. Dumbledore turned towards Mad-eye, "Alastor I would trust Severus with my life, and I will not have you insulting him in front of me and the rest of the Order. He holds a coin because if he receives information on the target ahead of time he can activate the coin and tell us before the wards are even activated."

Mad-eye muttered something unintelligible under his breath before resuming his silence; however his magical eye was fixed on Snape. Dumbledore made his way back to the head of the table before resuming the meeting.

Remus spoke from beside Hermione, "What is the bad news Albus?"

He looked defeated as he answered the question, "The Ministry has enacted a Muggle-born registration law, under the pretenses that this is 'war time'."

The entire room was silent for about ten seconds as everyone looked at each other, then all hell broke loose.

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><p>PLEASE! Review. It takes only a moment of your time! Don't lurk, for I love my readers and I want to hear what you think and feel! Love you guys!<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Hello my readers, it's been a while...sorry. I've been very busy. Here is the latest chapter. THANK YOU ALL WHO REVIEWED! They meant the world to me.

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><p>Chapter 12<p>

Hermione vaguely remembered the commotion that was going on around her at Dumbledore's news, as she was rapidly trying to think of a way to bypass the law completely. She knew there had to be more than just '_war time' _reasons as to this new registration. Maybe that would be the key to her escape.

Everyone was still yelling and arguing when she looked up to observe the scene. For an Order meeting they sure could cause a lot of chaos. They almost didn't hear her when she spoke, "What are the aspects of the term 'war time' Headmaster?" she asked in a normal tone despite the noise level. Remus who happened to hear her stopped his argument with Mad-eye and turned to look at her and then to Dumbledore who was also looking at her. Slowly the group started to realize something was up, as people had stopped arguing.

Dumbledore unrolled the piece of parchment that he had pulled out of his pocket earlier in the meeting and handed it to Hermione. She unrolled it and read the print under the heading.

_Muggleborn Registration Act_

_As a precaution to all wizards and witches with muggle parents:_

_Must register if they have a Ministry enacted ward on their home_

_Must register if over the age of 18_

_Must register if their legal parents or guardians are at risk of attack_

_These requirements are needed for the Ministry Auror team to be able to prevent any attack on the homes of those most at risk._

_Thank you for your cooperation._

_Cornelius Fudge_

_Minister of Magic_

Everyone was looking at her waiting to finish reading the parchment. She finally rolled up the letter and handed it back to Dumbledore, "There is no problem here as I do not fall under any of the requirements that they have set for this law."

Dumbledore looked at her curiously, and unrolled it to glance at them himself. Tonks on Remus' other side spoke up, "What are the requirements?"

Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke to the room at large, "The Muggleborn must register if they have a ministry ward on their home, are under the age of eighteen, or their legal guardians are at risk of attack."

Tonks still had a very confused look on her face as she glanced at Hermione, "Why don't you have the Ministry wards on your home?"

Hermione sighed, "I enacted my own wards long before the Ministry got involved with them. That is how I knew my parents were under attack during the last Order meeting," she explained.

Harry also spoke up, "Hermione you aren't over eighteen, and you're turning eighteen this September."

She stared at the table looking defeated, she had no intention of telling anyone her true age; now it looked like she had to, "I am nineteen and almost six months old, and don't ask how," she said glancing at everyone in the room. "For the last requirement, my parents are in a safe house that not even I know the location of; they are not at risk."

Dumbledore clapped his hands twice to get the attention back onto him, "Now if anyone else has any concerns bring them to me, but if we are all done here I conclude this meeting."

Everyone started to talk again as they filtered out of the room. All Hermione wanted to do was go upstairs and fall asleep, and that is precisely what she did. As she weaved through the crowd of people asking her questions she gave her excuses to pass through. She fell into her bad after changing quickly into her nightclothes. She didn't fall asleep for quite some time, as her head was spinning with everything that happened that day.

The next morning Fred stopped by before the shop opened and found Hermione in the kitchen eating some eggs with toast and taking notes from a book named _Defensive Curses and Jinxes_. He looked at the title of the book and laughed a bit before placing a leather bound journal in front of her, "George said you needed one of these for your potions work?"

She put down her quill and picked up the blank notebook flipping through it, "Yea thank you, how do you activate the voice detector charm?"

He took it from her and tapped the first blank page with his wand, "_Audite quod Manuum_ [5]," he said clearly and handed it back to Hermione.

She flipped through the pages and frowned, "It isn't showing anything that indicates its working."

He laughed, "Well, we meant it to be used for nefarious purposes so if we had it glow bright colors it would have been obvious," he explained as he pointed to the first page of the book which was jotting down the conversation they were having.

"Brilliant," she said in an awed voice, "You guys are going to make many students very happy with these." She looked down as it scribbled what she said, "How do you stop it from doing that?" she asked indicating the writing.

He pointed his wand at the notebook once more, "_Somnus _[6]," he enunciated before storing his wand back in his sleeve and taking the second piece of toast off her plate and turning to leave. "Have fun with it little sis; remember that we made those with pranks in mind," he called over his shoulder.

She smiled at his disappearing form, "Thanks Fred! Tell George he has my thanks as well!" she called as he left the house to apparate to Diagon Alley.

She jotted down a few more notes out of _Defensive Curses and Jinxes_ while she finished her food. Once the eggs were gone she banished the plate to the sink. She collected the journal, book, and notes and headed upstairs to find Harry. She found him in the library taking notes from a large blue bound book. He looked up and smiled when he saw her, "Hey Hermione, I was just about to come look for you," he said indicating to the notes in his hand.

She nodded and sat down next to him, enjoying the warmth of the fire, "I can't look at them right now Harry, but here," she said handing him the notes she had taken at breakfast. He glanced at them, reading a few of the spells.

"What book is this from, they seem to be all defensive spells," he asked as he continued to read the list of spells and their uses.

She handed him the book and flipped to one of the marked pages, "This book is almost completely about defensive spells, although there is one part the goes into rebounding shield charms that are similar to attacking."

He seemed to brighten at a rebounding shield charm, "That sounds great, what chapter?"

She flipped to page three hundred and six, "_Chapter twelve: Turning Defense into Offense_."

Harry was so engrossed in his reading that he didn't notice when Hermione cleared her throat to get his attention. After a few tries she spoke, "Harry?"

Nothing, "Harry Potter?"

He continued to read the passage oblivious to her attempts to gain his attention, "Harry, Draco Malfoy and I are getting married. I know it's sudden, but after I got pregnant with his child it seems like the right choice."

Harry nodded his head, "That's great Hermione, I'm happy for you…" he responded quietly. Hermione waited for it to sink in. A few seconds later Harry's head shot up to look at her. "Hermione Granger, if you ever do that to me again I swear I will hex you into next week."

Hermione laughed while rising from the couch and heading to the fireplace, "Well I had to get your attention somehow," she said throwing some floo powder into the fireplace. "I'm going to my potion's lab until dinner, I will see you later."

Harry just nodded and went back to reading his book. She just shook her head, smiling and called out her office into the floo. Hundreds of grates and a few moments later she was standing in her office.

She stepped into the room and walked over to her desk. She placed the journal on the surface and summoned the parchment that Professor Snape had given to her yesterday. She unrolled it as she sat down in her chair. The health questions she had asked him to answer we clearly written with their answers below them.

She opened her new journal, and uttered _Audite quod Manuum_,"Cruciatus Regeneration Potion, patient one, Severus Snape. Age thirty-seven, gender male, and birthday January ninth." She watched the journal jot down her words into an organized format and smiled at the efficiency of the little notebook.

She continued to recite the health questions, but when she got to allergies she cracked up laughing. Right under shellfish was the word _Gryffindor-Know-it-Alls_. The book didn't know how to write her laughter down, but its attempts just made her laugh harder. When she could breathe once more she finished the list of health questions and uttered _Somnus_.

She called Dobby for a cup of tea before going over the recipe for the next part of the potion. This is where things started to get a little complicated. She took a sip and began reviewing what needed to be done.

_Using a Standard 6 Copper Cauldron over medium heat let the base boil for 36 minutes stirring once counterclockwise every 3 minutes. The potion should be canary yellow in color, and have the consistency of pudding._

_Ingredients Below should be added every 42 seconds and one at a time. This timing needs to be exact for maximum power in the potion: Potion need to be stirred quickly clockwise for 12 seconds and then counterclockwise for 30 seconds before adding the next ingredient on the list:_

_2 teaspoons Powdered Moonstone_

_1 tablespoon Syrup of Hellebore_

_5 teaspoons Powdered porcupine quills_

_3 Large Valerian Roots ground into a fine paste (Mortar and Pestle must be Bronze)_

_1/3 teaspoon of Powdered Unicorn Horn_

_Potion should turn into a dark aquamarine color and have a watery consistency. Let the potion boil for 30 minutes without being disturbed. The color with gradually change into a forest green._

_Combine together in a silver bowl before adding to the potion, mix using a silver stirring rod until it is dark brown and has the consistency of mustard:_

_1 cup Flobberworm mucus_

_4 tablespoons Honey Water_

_5 teaspoons Fire Salamander Blood (Hungarian or Australian) _

_Add to the base potion after the 30 minute time lapse as stated above. Stir slowly and constantly clockwise for 13 minutes after addition. Let the potion simmer on low for 36 hours with no disturbance. The potion will be a light pink color and have the consistency of dish soap._

This was going to be a strenuous couple of hours. The first thing she needed to take care of was the visitation abilities. She walked into her lab and found the nymph in her frame casually turning wild flowers into necklaces. She walked over to her, "Hello Kapila, I need to ask you for a favor."

The nymph looked up at her and blinked, she was listening.

"The next part of this potion is very important, and I cannot be disturbed. No doubt Professor Snape will be by when I am brewing, can you let him in but inform him to not distract me?"

Kapila thought for a moment and nodded briefly before going back to her necklace of flowers. Hermione nodded satisfied. She then turned to her work space and began the preparations for the potion.

She took out the ingredients that she had prepared yesterday evening and laid them in the order she would need them, leaving a space of the hellebore syrup that needed to go in after the moonstone. Going into her ingredient closet she grabbed the hellebore syrup and measured out one tablespoon.

After putting it back she grabbed the Flobberworm mucus, honey water, and Hungarian fire salamander blood for the second part. She had learned early on that being prepared while brewing was the best way, otherwise something could be misplaced; one lesson Professor Snape had taught her that she had never forgotten.

During her second year the class had been brewing the Girding Potion, which gives the consumer extra endurance. She had just added in the Doxy eggs and was done stirring when she reached for the next ingredient. As it turned out, the Dragonfly thoraxes she needed at that moment had been left in the store room, and because of this her potion had melted the cauldron. That had been her first failing grade in potions. After that she double checked to make sure she had each ingredient ready.

She cast _Tempus_ and was told it was just past noon. According to her notes she could start the potion in an hour, which gave her just enough time to brew a few other potions she commonly used. She got out the ingredients for a simple head ache potion and began brewing. Fifty-four minutes later she had decanted the potion into five vials and stoppered them.

She cleaned up that portion of the lab and placed the vials in a drawer in her desk. She checked the time once more and was told that she had six minutes before the base would be ready to brew. She stepped back out into the lab and retrieved a Standard 6 Copper Cauldron from one of the shelves.

Walking over to the base she looked down and stuck a stirring rod in it to test the thickness. According to her notes it was as it should be. She proceeded to pour the base into the cauldron and cast _Incendio_ under it to start a fire. She followed the directions and thirty-six minutes later she was ready to add the first ingredient.

Once she added the Powdered Moonstone, nothing could distract her from this critical process. A Hippogryph and Dementor could have been battling next to her, and she would never have noticed. That meant that when Professor Snape entered the lab quietly and sat down on the stool across from her she didn't notice.

The last ingredient, Unicorn Horn, was dropped in and stirred. She finally relaxed enough to take in her surroundings. She startled slightly when she looked up and saw him sitting there with a smirk on his face, "Miss Granger, I could have killed you and you would never have known the difference."

She glared at him, "Well, should I be concerned about homicide? I told Kapila to let you in, and I thank you for being discreet about it. That part of the potion was critical," she explained as she gestured to the now forest green potion.

He looked towards the watery green liquid and raised an eyebrow, "What is the next step of the process?"

She pulled the Flobberworm mucus, honey water, and Hungarian fire salamander blood towards her, "I combine these and add them to the potion in twenty-three minutes."

He watched as she pulled out a silver bowl and stirring rod and began to mix together the ingredients until they the correct color and consistency. She looked up and found him watching her, "Would you like to see the Arithmancy calculations I used for this potion sir?"

He pondered the thought for a moment before giving a curt nod. She summoned them to her and handed it to him. While he read them over she added the mixture to the potion and stirred it for the required thirteen minutes. After making sure that the potion would not be disturbed she turned down the fire so the potion could simmer.

As she cleaned up the rest of the lab she heard a gasp and papers fall to the floor. She whipped around and saw that Professor Snape was now standing and clutching his forearm tightly. She knew what that meant.

"I will come back for those calculations Miss Granger," he said as he rushed out of the lab to meet with his dark master.

[5] _Audite quod Manuum _translates to _Hear and Hands_ in Latin.

[6] _Somnus_ translates to _Sleep_ in Latin.

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><p>Please review as they give me my inspiration.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

Hi Everyone! I know it's been a while, but I was busy moving back to college and having my first week of classes. Here is chapter 13! LOTS OF HERMIONE/SEVERUS interaction! Thank you for everybody who reviewed you all make my day! Every review I get makes me happy and encourages me to continue this story. Well without further wait here is chapter 13!

Disclaimer: I own nothing of JK's world

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><p>Chapter 13<p>

Hermione stared at the door that Professor Snape had just exited through, worry evident in her posture. She knew that he went to the meetings very often, but his reaction to the mark was almost fearful. Not once knowing her professor had she remembered him startling like that when his mark activated. Normally he kept a cool and calm exterior, so much so that the average person wasn't even aware what was happening until he was gone. Making up her mind she finished up with her tidying up before returning to her office.

She scanned the bookshelf for something in particular and when she found it she gingerly pulled it from its resting place. Walking back into the lab, she flipped open the large book and flipped through the pages until she found _Elixir of Dittany._ She read through the potion once and took a deep breath. According to recent studies that she had read in _Potions Monthly_ this elixir was more potent than its cousin, _Essence._

Pulling out a standard four size silver cauldron she began the two hour process of making it. She pulled out the ingredients from her store cupboard and lit a fire beneath the cauldron. The main ingredient, despite popular belief was not Dittany. In fact there was very little Dittany in the potion at all, as the other ingredients enhance the small amount exponentially.

When she was about half way through the process she turned to Kapila, who was watching her intently. "Kapila, would you please inform me when he returns to the grounds?"

Kapila smiled and nodded in response before exiting her portrait and keeping a lookout. Hermione continued to make the potion, and when another hour had passed she was done. She turned down the heat and decanted the potion into six vials. She began to clean up when Kapila returned to her portrait looking a little panicked.

Grabbing a few of the vials and placing them in her pocket, she ran out of the lab after Kapila. After what seemed like hundreds of turns and a mile later they came across a body lying on the floor. Hermione approached it, and upon seeing the dark death eater cloak and black hair of her professor she knelt next to him.

"Professor Snape?" she asked in a small voice. When he didn't answer she pulled out her wand and cast _Lumos_ to light up the dim corridor. His eyes were shut tightly, and he seemed to be shuttering every few seconds. She checked his pulse and determined it was slower than it should have been. She turned to Kapila, who was watching from a portrait above them.

"Kapila, can you go to Madam Pomfrey in the hosp-," she began, but was interrupted by a deep voice.

"No, do not get Poppy," he said weakly as he shifted to look up at the wood nymph. Kapila just looked on, a conflicted expression on her face. "Miss Granger, I do not require your help, leave," he told her as he attempted to rise from his place on the ground, but after moving his leg he gasped in agony and decided to lie there instead.

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think you are in a condition where you can argue," Hermione pointed out indicating his leg.

He glared daggers at her, "I have gone through much worse than this Miss Granger, and I did not need your help then. I certainly don't need it now," he growled and attempted once more to make his leg cooperate. She stood up next to him and held out her hand for him to grasp. He stared at it, brooding for a moment before rolling his eyes and allowing her to help him up off the floor. he supposed staying on the floor was more humiliating than getting helped up.

He leaned heavily against the wall for support and was breathing severely.

"Is there a reason that you are refusing to go to the hospital wing sir?" she asked while watching for signs of collapsing.

He glowered at her, "Not a reason I am willing to let you know about. Now are you going to just stand there, or are you going to help me?"

She raised both eyebrows in surprise, "I thought you didn't need help sir," she said as she moved towards him so he could lean on her.

"I would have sent you away if I didn't need your assistance, insufferable twit," he growled.

She shook her head in annoyance at his utterly baffling behaviors, "Where are we going then Professor?" she said as they reached a T-junction in the dungeon halls.

"Left," he said breathlessly.

What seemed like at least twenty minutes later they stopped in front of a door. He placed a shaky hand on the knob and waited for the telling click. He then pushed open the door and leaned on the door frame.

"You can leave now Miss Granger, I no longer require your irritating presence," he said before taking an unsteady step further into the room.

She gave a skeptical look, "Sir you can barely stand, let alone walk."

"Then I will happily crawl to my bed, good night Miss Granger," he barked and swung the door to shut it. Hermione's foot stopped it from closing entirely. She reopened the door and walked inside. After closing the door gently behind her she walked over to him.

"Professor Snape, I realize that having the Gryffindor Know-it-All help you is excruciating and all, but is it really less painful than the gash in your leg?" she inquired with sarcasm in her voice.

"Yes," he said in a flat voice.

She rolled her eyes, "Please Sir, let me help you," she finished in a quiet voice.

He sighed in exasperation before reaching for her shoulder once more, "The bedroom is right there," he explained while pointing to the second door on the right. Hermione nodded and they made their way sluggishly to the indicated door. When they reached the door he pushed it open and continued to limp inside.

Once he was sitting against the bed she drew out the four vials from her pocket. He raised an eyebrow in query. "Elixir of Dittany," she verified.

He gave a small look of surprise and relief before leaning down to untie one of his boots, "There is a vial of pain-relief potion in the bathroom above the sink," he said before switching to the other boot.

She nodded and went to retrieve it. As she walked into the bathroom and found the cabinet she heard him talk again, "Grab the bandages too."

After finding the items she walked back into the dim lit bedroom and placed the items on the bedside table. Before he could stop her she cast _Lumos _on all the lights in the room.

He heard her gasp as she stared at him in shock and gave an irritated glare, "Please close your mouth Miss Granger, it is most unappealing to have flies in your mouth," he said in a deadpan voice.

She slowly closed her mouth, but continued to stare at him in shock. Running down the side of his temple was a large gash that was still bleeding. His robes were torn in a variety of places, and he was cradling his right arm closely to his chest. As her eyes traveled she spotted the large gash in his leg.

"What happened to you? It looks like you were attacked by three werewolves and an irritated Hippogryph," she asked as she handed him the vial of pain potion. Noticing the potion's color was off she spoke again, "Sir, I think I grabbed the wrong vial. Sorry, let me have that back so I can-," she started but he had already unstoppered and gulped it down.

He grimaced at the taste, "That was the correct potion Miss Granger. This variety is quite a bit stronger than the ones in the hospital wing."

Hermione panicked remembering the lesson a year earlier, "That amount of pain potion would kill Hagrid, never mind you! What were you thinking?" she shrieked.

He rolled his eyes, "Miss Granger, do you honestly believe I have no idea what I am doing? My body has become immune to weaker pain potions over the year. Even still this dose will only last me about an hour, so I need to heal my wounds if you do not mind."

Hermione immediately stepped forward and cast a diagnostic spell over him. A variety of different symbols and colors appeared before her. Thankfully Ginny had been insistent on studying a few days earlier.

He glared at the runes and then Hermione, "Miss Granger, what do you think you are doing?" he barked.

She continued to scan the various injuries, "I think that would be obvious professor."

"Yes, it is obvious you are being an insufferable twit, and I would appreciate you stopping," he growled back.

"Duly notes Professor, please lay down so I can better treat your injuries," she asked in an overly sweet voice but with a stern look in her eye.

He didn't move, and just stared at her incredulously, "Get out."

She sighed in exasperation, "No, you have a badly fractured radius and ulna, a bruised sternum, a laceration to both your head and leg, and a broken ankle. I cannot just leave you in this state, and it would be a lot easier if you would just listen to me…for once…please."

He thought over the few options he had left for a moment, and figured this was the best of all evils. He slowly lay back onto the bed and lifted his sock clad feet off the floor. After he was comfortable and looking at her with apprehension she approached.

"I'm going to clean and heal the gash on your head as it is the most important right now," she announced.

He nodded once and turned his head slightly so she had better access to it. His hair had become matted into the bloody mess so she cast _Tergeo_ and the dried blood vanished. The cut was still bleeding so she used a few of the bandages to stench it before continuing.

She pointed her wand at the injury and he flinched involuntarily, "I'm going to use a spell as it isn't deep enough to require the elixir. _Vulnera Sanentur_," she pronounced three times. There was nothing but a thin white line where the gash had been moments earlier.

She ran her finger over the small scar and nodded in satisfaction, "It should become fainter over the next few days."

She then reached out for the arm that he was still cradling to his chest, "May I please see your arm sir?"

He exhaled deeply and then slowly extended his arm towards her. She grasped in lightly and unbuttoned the cuff of the sleeve. As she pulled up the fabric she could feel him stiffen.

Pointing her wand at his forearm she cast another diagnostic spell. It glowed red and a few runes shined brightly. She nodded to herself, "_Brackium emendo_," she whispered.

The arm glowed lightly for a moment before resuming a normal look. The dark mark could be seen clearly on his pale skin and she found herself staring at it until he pulled his arm away.

She looked guilty for a moment before becoming serious again, "I'm guessing your arm is acceptable if you can jerk it away from me like that."

He scowled at her as she continued her healing, "Sir, you have a bruised sternum as I said before, do you have any bruise salve?"

"Miss Granger, who do you think you're talking to? Of course I have bruise salve; it's in the right hand drawer in the bathroom counter."

She glared at him and retrieved it from the bathroom. She placed it on the bedside table, "Can you please unbutton your jacket and shirt so I can apply it?"

"No," he said in a serious tone.

"Sir, are you trying to make this more difficult than it should be to entertain yourself?" she inquired with an irritated tone.

"No."

"Do you think me incapable of applying some bruise salve?" she questioned, her tone raising a little.

"No."

"Do you not trust me?" she asked her voice close to yelling.

"I trust you Miss Granger," he answered his tone holding some uncertainty in it.

"Then please tell me why you won't simply unbutton the top few buttons of your shirt for me," she requested her voice full of impatience.

He stared at his hands for a moment before answering, "Because I can't…"

Her brow furrowed in confusion, "You can't?"

"No, my hands are incapable, at the present time, to unbutton them," he explained as he held up his trembling hands.

She deflated immediately, feeling totally senseless, "Oh…I'm sorry sir. I didn't realize…"

"That much is clear Miss Granger."

She stared at her floor wishing it would just swallow her. Finally she looked at him, "Do you mind if I unbutton your shirt so I can apply some bruise salve, Sir?"

He exhaled deeply, "No Miss Granger I do not see a problem with that."

She nodded and reached for the first button of his jacket, after about the fifth button she spoke, "Is there a reason you wear clothes with so many buttons?"

"Yes, in case Gryffindor Know-it-Alls need to unbutton my shirt, it is designed to make it as difficult as possible," he answered in a bored voice.

She gave a genuine smile and began unbuttoning the shirt to expose his chest and sternum. There was a nasty looked black and blue bruise radiating from the center, and what appeared to be a mark left by the toe of a boot.

She turned to the salve on the night stand and scooped out a dollop of the yellow paste and spread it across the discolored skin. She spent a couple of minutes making sure the paste had completely dissolved into the skin. When she was done she closed the paste and placed it back into the bathroom.

When she returned the bruise was already beginning to fade slightly. She noticed he was trembling every few seconds, "Are you okay professor?"

He nodded, "After effects of the Cruciatus Curse, I'm used to it."

She nodded and moved to his left leg, where the rest of his injuries were located. The gash was on the outside of his thigh and was still bleeding slightly. The cut was deep and needed the elixir, "Sir I need to have clear access to your thigh, which means I can either cut a hole in your trousers or you can take them off."

He glowered at her, and pulled out his wand from his sleeve. With a quick flick the one pant leg was cut short and the remainder vanished.

Hermione look stunned for a moment, "I'll ask how you did that one later professor."

She cast _Tergeo_ and the dried blood vanished from the wound. She then grabbed one of the vials from the table and unstoppered it, "This is going to hurt…a lot," she warned.

He nodded, and she slowly poured the elixir into the wound. There was a sharp intake of breath and his hands clenched the blanket, but other than that he made no sound. About twenty seconds later the gash was no longer visible and she ran a finger over the small scar. During that moment she noticed the hundreds of other scars littering his leg. She decided to forgo saying anything and moved down to his broken ankle.

She cast another diagnostic spell on it and nodded to herself. He watched with apprehension as she pointed her wand at the swelled ankle, "_Os__curate_," she pronounced and heard the bone pop back into place.

He finally seemed to relax his body a little as the last of his injuries were healed.

She slowly lifted his ankle, "Can you rotate it?"

After a moment he moved his foot left and right and nodded.

She stood back from him and nodded, casting one more diagnostic spell. It showed the amount of Cruciatus that had been casted, but there was very little she could do about that. "The best thing to do right now is sleep."

Severus stood up from the bed and walked into the bathroom before returning with a vial of dreamless sleep, "You can go Miss Granger."

"Good night professor," she said as she moved back into the living room and heading to the door.

She opened it and was just about to close it until she heard his voice, "And Miss Granger?"

She popped her head back into the room and saw him in the door frame of his bedroom, "Thank You."

She smiled softly, "Your welcome professor," she replied and shut the door behind her.

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><p>Please Review as they encourage me to continue and just make me very happy.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

Hello Everyone! Here is chapter 14! I know that there was little to no wait time for this update, but I am back on my writing streak again. Not sure how long it will last, but hopefully it will keep up. Thank you again to those who reviewed. Unfortunately there were only five of you out of 2,000 readers. I don't want to sound selfish, but is asking for people to review too much? You guys are what makes me continue, and your feed back is like my fuel. Please give me your opinions, I don't care if you hate my story or love it, just tell me. Now back to the story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of this wonderful world.

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><p>Chapter 14<p>

The next night Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Tonks, Remus, Arthur, and Molly were eating a dinner of steak and kidney pie. There were a few conversations occurring at the table.

Molly was complaining to Arthur that the twins hardly ever came to dinner anymore and he was trying his best to appease her. Ginny was talking to Tonks about Auror training, more specifically any medical training they may receive over the years. Ron and Harry were discussing a duel that they had had earlier in the day. After the outcome Ron had demanded a rematch as he said he was hungry when it had occurred, and that is why he lost.

Hermione turned to Remus who was staring into space chewing on a piece of pie, "Remus?" she asked quietly.

He startled out of his trance and turned to her, "Hermione?" he responded.

She took a breath before she spoke, "Tonight is a new moon right?"

He smiled gratefully, "Yes it is," he confirmed, and then looked curious, "Why do you ask?"

"Well…I need to go into the forbidden forest to collect a potion ingredient, and I would prefer not to have to go alone, would you join me?" she requested.

He smiled good-naturedly at her, "Of course I'll help you Hermione, what time do you want to leave?"

She glanced at the clock on the wall, "After dinner, around eight o'clock?"

He too glanced at the wall and nodded, "Eight sounds good to me, I will meet you in the foyer and we can apparate to the gates together if you like?"

She nodded her approval, "Sounds good."

After dinner Ginny, Hermione, Harry, and Ron went up to the library to talk. Harry explained the tactics that he had used from her book on backfiring shields, "The key to casting a rebounding shield charm is to have the intent for spells to rebound off of it when it's cast. Otherwise the shield will just absorb the spell like any other," Harry explained to the rest of the group.

They discussed for another hour before Hermione rose from her seat by the fire, "I am meeting Remus downstairs to collect a few potion ingredients; I will be back later tonight."

They all waved their good-byes as she exited and continued their conversation as she headed downstairs. Remus was waiting for her while discussing a ministry issue with Arthur. As she came into view they finished the conversation, and Remus handed Hermione her cloak off the rack.

She accepted and fastened the cloak around her, "Thank you."

Remus nodded and opened the door to allow her to exit the house.

"You two be careful out there. That forest is dangerous enough during the day never mind at night," Mr. Weasley warned.

Remus chuckled warmly, "Don't worry Arthur, I'll look after her." He closed the door and turned to Hermione, "Shall I apparate us, or would you like the honor?"

She held out her hand for him to grasp, "I'll do it," she said. He grabbed her hand and with a loud _Crack_ they landed in front of the gates of Hogwarts.

They stepped through the iron bars and turned right, towards the forest. Because there was no moon it was extremely dark. Hermione looked up and noticed most of the stars were covered by a thick layer of clouds.

She frowned slightly, "The weather sure isn't making it easy for us to find this ingredient."

Remus looked up as well and chuckled, "I guess not; what are we looking for anyway?"

"Purple Thorn Blossoms," she answered as they entered the tree line.

As they made their way further into the woods it became darker and darker. Hermione pulled out her wand and made a few Bluebell Flames to light the way. They walked for another ten minutes before she stopped and turned off the path.

Remus' expression showed he was not happy with this plan, "Hermione I think we should stay on the path," he said pointing to the road he was standing on.

She turned around and frowned, "They only grow next to White Birch and the only place in the forest where those grow is about one-hundred yards that way," she explained pointing towards her destination.

He looked around for a second and began to follow her in defeat. They reached their destination and she quickly found the small blossoms. They were about the size of a sickle and the plant that they grew on was extremely thorny. She took out a small jar and began to pluck the small flowers off the plant. When she had successfully gotten ten she closed the jar and placed it back in her pocket.

She stood up and glanced at Remus, who was standing stiffly a few feet away looking into the blackened woods, "I'm set Remus, we can go."

He looked towards her and gave a small smile. He gestured for her to go ahead of him and they headed back towards the path. About half way to their destination Remus grabbed Hermione shoulder to stop her. She turned around with a confused expression. He placed a single finger over his lips to indicate she should be silent, but was watching attentively to the left.

She too turned to try and catch a glimpse of what he had detected, but was unable to see anything through the dark trees.

He slowly turned to her, "Run. Run as fast as you can out of these woods," he whispered and gave her a small push.

She was about to ask why when she saw a very large figure move in the trees next to them.

Remus pushed her harder, "Hermione Run!" he shouted.

The black shadow started to move towards them and Hermione sprinted towards the path. She glanced behind her every few seconds to make sure Remus was with her, and when she reached the path she turned right. She continued to run with all of her strength, but when she turned once more to look for Remus she tripped on a root.

Stumbling forward she hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of her. She tried to catch her breath, and when she looked up the shadow was upon her. It looked to be a monstrous leopard or tiger and had its teeth bared and claws extended. She attempted to crawl backwards away from it but it sank its claws into her thigh to keep her from moving.

She screamed in pain and horror, "Remus!" she cried. The last thing she saw was the gigantic paw of the beast swing down towards her head.

When Remus caught up to them Hermione had just fallen. He rushed after them and without thought tackled the gigantic cat off of her. It righted itself and turned towards Remus, teeth bared and ready to strike.

Remus stood between the creature and the unconscious girl giving a low feral growl himself. The cat weighted its options for a moment before deciding that the small female prey was not worth being injured over and stalked back into the dark recesses of the forest. Once Remus was sure it was gone he turned back to Hermione.

Her Bluebells illuminated her face and leg enough to see that she needed a Healer immediately. He carefully picked her up and sprinted out of the woods and towards the lighted castle in the distance. It was another eight minutes before he reached the main doors, and when he looked down at Hermione he panicked. She was paler than he had ever seen her.

He burst through the doors and rushed up the main staircase, "Hello, can anyone hear me? I need help!" he screamed through the halls as he made his way to the hospital wing.

He continued to bellow as he ran to the healer and finally on the third floor Severus rounded the corner. He took one look at the scene and rushed towards the hospital wing without a word. Remus followed him swiftly with his delicate load and a minute later he was in the hospital with Poppy standing over him.

"Place her on that bed Remus," she requested as she indicated the closest one and continued casting diagnostic spells. "Severus please go into my stores and bring some Blood-Replenishing Potion," she told him.

Severus moved towards the mentioned cabinet and pulled out the potion, returning to Poppy and placing it in her waiting hands.

Poppy unstoppered the vial, "Severus can you prop Miss Granger up please so I can pour this in her mouth?" she asked.

Severus immediately moved to Hermione's side and helped to prop her. Poppy poured the bright red liquid down Hermione's throat, and after vanished the vial. Severus put her back down gently.

While Poppy continued to treat her patient Severus turned to Remus with a fury in his eyes that Remus had never seen before, "What happened?" he asked in a quiet but deadly voice.

Remus held up his hands and took a step back from Severus, "We were attacked by a Nundu in the forbidden forest. I couldn't get to her quick enough," he explained, his voice growing with fear and worry.

Severus snarled at him, "What the bloody hell were you two doing in the forbidden forest this late at night?" he growled.

"She needed to collect a potion ingredient and she asked me to come with her," he explained in a shaky voice.

Severus gave a skeptical look, "What potion ingredient could Miss Granger possibly need to collect this late at night?"

Remus walked over to Hermione's unconscious form and reached into her cloak pocket, "Purple Thorn Blossoms," he answered showing the jar to Severus.

The gears seemed to click into place for Severus and his expression turned to one of realization. He had read over that potion recipe fifty times. He moved towards her, "Foolish girl, I had these. You should have just asked."

Remus looked confused for a moment, but then swiftly looked at Hermione as she spoke softly, "I doubt you would have let me use yours professor."

A small look of relief flashed over Severus' face before he resumed an expression of indifference, "Well next time you need to collect an ingredient on my behalf that could get you killed, ask me first."

Remus frowned at Severus, "What do you mean on your behalf? Did you ask her to get these blasted flowers for you?" Remus yelled turning on Severus.

Severus instantly became guarded, "Of course not you stupid wolf."

"Then explain what you just said!" he commanded.

"Remus, please stop. Leave him alone, that is private business between the two of us," she pleaded softly.

Remus turned towards her, "Hermione, you haven't gotten yourself into anything dangerous have you?" he asked seriously.

"If by dangerous you mean having to deal with Professor Snape every few days, then yes it is extremely life-threatening."

Severus smirked, "Poppy if that is everything I will be taking my leave." He swept out of the hospital with Remus and Hermione staring after him.

After a moment Remus turned back to her, "I am so sorry Hermione, I tried to get to you as fast as I could…" he explained with a worried expression.

She smiled lightly, "Remus you managed to fight off what I can only assume was a gigantic puma; I thank you for not letting it eat me."

He chuckled, "It was a Nundu, not a puma. Still I wish I had been a little quicker," he said pointing to the bandages on her leg and the scratches on her head.

Poppy walked over to them after a moment, "Hermione I am going to give you a light sleep potion, and you should be okay by tomorrow morning."

Hermione nodded accepting the vial, gulping it down, and handing it back to Poppy. Remus stepped towards the fireplace to floo back to Grimmauld Place.

"Remus?" Hermione called after him ,and he turned back to her, "Thank you again for saving my life."

He smiled, "Not a problem Hermione."

"And if you could not tell anyone that would be great. The last thing I want to do is start a riot," she requested.

He nodded slightly, "I'll see what I can do," he answered and stepped into the green flames. A moment later he was gone and the flames resumed their natural orange tone.

"Miss Granger if you need me I will be in my office," Poppy said as she walked towards the door.

Hermione nodded and snuggled into the sheets until she was comfortable. She closed her eyes and drifted into peaceful oblivion.

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><p>Review Please. Only takes a second. :-)<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

Hello My lovely readers! Here is chapter 15! Thank you to all who reviewed, they all mean so much to me. On another note I finally reach page 100 on my word processor, who would have thought! Anyway just a small win over the course of writing this! I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing of this world, although I wish I did.

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><p>Chapter 15<p>

Hermione woke seven hours later in a dark and empty hospital wing. She glanced at the office to her left, and seeing no lights on, she threw back the sheets. Her feet touched the cold stone floor and immediately she reached for her shoes. After slipping them on she fastened the cloak back on her and exited the wing. She cast a quick _Tempus _as she made her way towards the dungeons. After being shown that it was four forty-five she hastened her steps.

When she reached the portrait of Kapila she pulled out her vial of silver and poured it into her hands. The wood nymph nodded and allowed Hermione access to her lab. She looked at her potion briefly to check if it was still looking as it should. After confirming that everything was how it should have been she went to her store room and picked up an Asphodel Root and a bone from an Irish Spiked Dragon.

She went back to her work surface to put them down. She then reached into her pocket and grabbed the jar of Purple Thorn Blossoms and set them on the table as well.

Having done all the necessary prepping she approached the potion and lit a fire underneath. During this phase of the potion it had to be between 175 degrees Celsius and 204 degrees Celsius. This meant that she had about fifteen minutes to prepare her ingredients.

She picked up the root and began to make it into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle. Once she was satisfied with the consistency she moved to the dragon bone. She needed a tablespoon of marrow from it, and the method was not the easiest. Dragon bone was extremely resistant to magic and destruction in general, so when the room provided her with a diamond tipped scalpel she was more than relieved. After another five minutes she had the required amount of marrow.

She checked the temperature of the potion and determined that it was in the range it should be to start. After each of ingredients has been added, stir the potion 4 times clockwise and 3 times counterclockwise using a gold stirring rod. She started with the root and watched it dissolve into the potion while she stirred. She then opened the jar of blossoms, plucked out two, and added it to the boiling potion as well. After stirring the required amount she reached for her marrow and incorporated that in too.

As the potion continued to boil, she walked back into her store room to retrieve the ingredient she had prepared the night after Professor Snape had been injured. She pulled a single cobra fang soaking in Essence of Toad from its place and walked back to the potion. Carefully picking it out of the Essence, she dropped it into the boiling liquid. Stirring it the required amount one last time, she turned the heat to medium and let it simmer for eighteen minutes.

She stared at the now simmering potion with both pride and fear. She knew she had to calculate which of the three dark ingredients she would need to finish the potion. With trepidation she summoned a piece of parchment, a quill and some ink to her. Sitting on one of the stools next to the cauldron she began the Arithmancy calculations for each ingredient. The first she tried was the bone of father unknowingly taken. The runes aligned themselves into an X shaped pattern, indicating that it was not the correct ingredient. She gave a sigh of relief; because she wasn't keen on the idea of steal one of her father's bones. The next she tried was the blood of an enemy in her calculations. Once again it came up negative, much to Hermione relief. Finally she added in the flesh of servant. The calculation grew rapidly before become black again to form a perfect circle on the paper.

Nodding at the paper, she calculated how much of the ingredient she would need for the potion to work. When the results came back they surprised her. The potion did not require any set amount, but a certain spell was indicated. She once again used the runes she would need in order to verify the spell. When the runes came back she had to translate them into Latin.

At the end of the sequence she was left with "Afferte mihi illos dolore tem et sanare".

When she was done with all her calculations fifteen minutes had elapsed. She checked on her potion which was currently the lilac color it was supposed to be. Knowing that the flesh should be added as soon as possible to the potion, she prepared a silver knife. Figuring that the flesh could be taken from anywhere she decided on the fleshy palm of her left hand.

Silver was despite popular belief was the purest substance while brewing potions. Even gold gave off impurities that silver would not. Knowing this, she decided to move the potion to a silver cauldron before continuing to the end. She stood above the simmering liquid and raised the knife to her left palm.

"_Afferte mihi illos dolore tem et sanare_," she annunciated clearly while slicing off a small sliver of flesh from her palm. As soon as the flesh touched the liquid there was a violent uplift in the cauldron. Hermione took a step back but continued to watch her work. It slowly calmed and what was left was a deep purple liquid with the consistency of heavy cream.

Hermione could have jumped for joy, "Kapila! It worked Kapila! Can you go get Professor Snape for me, please?" Kapila nodded enthusiastically before darting out of her portrait. She didn't even care what time it was, sleep was now something that didn't matter. She looked down at her palm and cast a quick mending spell in order to close the wound.

She decanted the potion into fifteen vials and cleaned up the cauldron while she waited for Professor Snape to walk through the door, and not two minutes later he ran in looking rather disheveled and alarmed. Upon seeing Hermione he frowned, looked at the nymph, and sneered.

"Miss Granger! You seem to be in perfect health. Why on Earth did your little nymph summon me at seven in the morning?" he barked, irritation clearly evident in his voice.

Hermione frowned in confusion at the nymph walking back into her portrait. Kapila just shrugged and pointed to Severus.

"What did she do?" Hermione asked with an amused edge to her voice.

"She ran frantically into my chamber and started jumping up and down while pointing at the door. I ran outside to follow her and when she started to lead me to your lab I thought you had exploded a cauldron and needed medical attention," he ranted using a clearly frustrated tone.

Hermione snickered lightly, "I didn't know you cared so much professor, otherwise I would have thought you had a heart," she said.

He glared daggers at her, "So if you aren't dying then why the bloody hell am I here this early in the morning. Come to think of it, why are you out of the hospital wing?" he growled.

Hermione smiled and walked to the fifteen vials that were waiting on the work bench. She gingerly lifted one of them and held it out for him to take.

He approached her cautiously, "Are you going to tell me what it is?"

She signed in frustration, "It's the Cruciatus Regeneration Potion sir. Why else would I bring you here this early in the morning?"

"Because you are an inconsiderate Gryffindor?" he mocked with a playful edge in his tone.

She smirked at him as her mood was too good to be mad, "That is true; I'm quite inconsiderate to make this potion for people like you."

He took the vial from her fingers and carefully observed it, "And what, Miss Granger, type of person am I?"

She sat down on one of the stools and took out her notebook, "One that I feel is extremely misunderstood," she answered cryptically. She summoned a quill and ink to herself and gestured for him to take the stool next to her.

Once he was seated she continued, "According to my calculations this is going to be extremely painful, almost as much as the actually Cruciatus for about four minutes," she warned.

He gave a skeptical look, "Well then this should be extremely easy to handle."

She frowned at him for a moment, "Does it really happen that often sir?"

He unstoppered the vial, "Yes," he answered before downing the potion in one gulp.

He waited for the potion to take effect for about five seconds before he felt it. He stumbled off the stool and hit the ground hard. It almost looked like he was having a seizure, and the only thing Hermione could do was watch in horror. She kneeled next to him to make sure he did not hit his head hard on the stone floor, but besides that there wasn't much she could do.

After the longest four minutes of Hermione's life, he suddenly stopped moving. She moved his hair away from his face so she could see him. His eyes were shut tightly but he was at least breathing, if not a little heavily, "Professor are you alright?"

He shifted slightly before opening his eyes to look at her. He blinked rapidly a few times before speaking, "I'm fine Miss Granger." He was able to pick himself off the floor and sit heavily on the stool next to him.

"Do you feel any pain?" Hermione asked, hope evident in her voice.

He flexed his fingers, arms, and legs for a moment, "No…I don't feel any pain…" he answered in a voice almost too quiet to hear. "I don't feel any pain," he said a little louder. He continued to repeat himself until he was practically shouting. He turned to Hermione who was still standing next to him smiling brightly.

He suddenly rose from his seat and took a step towards her, "I don't feel any pain," he repeated a final time.

She had tears in her eyes, "That's great professor," she said quietly, "It worked."

"I've never been happier to be proven wrong," he said softly. He then did something she never thought he would ever do willingly. He hugged her. She was almost too stunned to respond but after a moment she hugged him back. After a few seconds he stepped back and looked at her face, "Thank you Hermione."

She was so stunned by the use of her given name and the hug that all she could do was smile, but after a moment spoke, "I made fifteen vials, so you should take some with you."

He looked towards the vials and frowned, "The last ingredient…what was it?" he asked spotting the calculations on the table. He moved towards them and started to read.

Hermione panicked and pulled the calculations from under his gaze, "Sir, I don't think that it is necessary for you to know that. You are healed and that is all that matters."

Confusion and wariness flashed across his face before becoming anger, "Miss Granger, I demand to know that ingredient," he growled and took a step towards her. In response she stepped back.

"No Sir, I would prefer that we discuss it at a later time," she pleaded and continued to back up as he advanced.

When his movements cornered her and she was not able to retreat anymore he spoke, "I do not want to take them from you Miss Granger, but I will if I must," he threatened.

"Do what you must. I will not give them to you willingly," she answered in a firm voice and pulled out her wand.

He spotted the wand in her hand and frowned, "Do you not trust me Miss Granger?"

She shook her head, "It isn't that Sir, I trust no one with the knowledge of the last ingredient," she clarified.

"So nobody knows?"

She again shook her head, "No."

"And what would happen to this wonderful potion if something were to happen to you?" he asked his voice laced with irritation.

"Is that a threat?" she questioned with anger in her voice.

He glared at her and snarled, "I would never threaten your life Miss Granger, but what if Lupin hadn't gotten to you in time!" he bellowed.

"He did get to me in time, so that is a moot point!" she shouted back.

Severus seemed to deflate as rapidly as his anger had come, "We can't lose this potion Miss Granger, and we most certainly can't lose you," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

She gazed him an inquiring gaze.

He sighed, "You are too valuable a target to the Dark Lord as it is, and even you walking outside is dangerous."

Hermione nodded, "I understand that, but I can't let the final ingredient be known to a man that is summoned to him on a regular basis," she explained calmly

He seemed defeat as he nodded, "You are correct Miss Granger, that was selfish of me," he said as he retreated from her and headed towards the door of the lab.

"Wait," she called after him and rushed over to grab a few of the vials, "Take these," she told him, "…and please contact me if you are ever hurt like you were the other night."

He took the vials wordlessly and looked into her eyes for a moment. He appeared as if he was trying to determine something, but after a moment he turned and left the lab without a word, leaving Hermione alone.

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><p>Please Review, it only takes a second. :-)<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

Soooooooo, college is hard and time consuming. :-) I know its been a while since I posted, go ahead and throw the tomatoes, I deserve it. But you can thank Kay8abc my wonderful new beta for getting e back in. So without further wait here is chapter 16. I hope you enjoy. (This chapter is not yet betaed. Also previous chapters will be reposted betaed.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing of JK Rowling's beautiful world.

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><p>Chapter 16<p>

Hermione sat back on the stool that she had vacated earlier, and rested her elbows on the counter with her face in her hands. She sat there for what seemed like hours trying to decide what she was going to do with the incomplete recipe. She knew that Professor Snape was correct. If she were severely injured, or worse dead, then the potion would have to be picked up by someone else incomplete. Uncovering her face she turned to Kapila who was watching her intensely.

"Kapila, if I make a complete copy of the recipe and hide it would you show Professor Snape where it was if something happened to me?"

Kapila nodded and stood walking to the very edge of her portrait. While looking at Hermione she pointed to the stone directly adjacent to her portrait's frame. Getting up from her stool she walked to the indicated stone. It was about the size of her hand and had a small leaf on the corner of it. It would easily be overlooked by searching eyes. She looked at the nymph and raised a questioning eyebrow. In response Kapila walked towards a tree in her portrait and placed her hand on the trunk. Hermione looked back towards the stone, which had just vanished, leaving a small compartment big enough to fit the recipe scroll.

Beaming, Hermione made her way back to her recipe and cast a duplicate charm on it, making a second copy. She added the last ingredient to the bottom of the scroll, rolled it up, and sealed it. Joining Kapila at the secret compartment again she placed the recipe gingerly in and stood back so Kapila could seal it. Once Kapila's hand left the tree the stone reappeared in place, sealing off the vital scroll.

"That should do perfectly Kapila, thank you."

The wood nymph tilted her head in acknowledgement. Just then her deer familiar walked into the frame and she went to greet it. Hermione walked towards her area and cleaned up the papers, storing them in her notebook. She then took the remaining vials and walked into her office, placing them in one of the desk drawers. At last she was able to return to Grimmauld Place. Not knowing what to expect she took a long deep breath, through floo powder into the fire, stepped in the green flames, and called out to the house of Black.

He was running out of breath, and his parched throat screamed for water, but he couldn't stop. If he stopped they would catch him, and then what? He didn't even know what he was running from, but he knew he needed to keep moving. Stumbling over an overgrown thorny bush he found himself in an expansive field. A field filled with nothing but thorny weeds, but he had to keep moving. If he didn't keep running they would catch him, and if they caught him, then he would surely be dead. Looking over his shoulder he spotted the large black shadow that is chasing him down. It seems no matter how quickly he ran it was always able to keep up. Not looking where he was stepping an arm like weed reaches out to trip him. He falls hard, and his hands are shredded from the thorns as he tries to break his fall. They vines are now circling him, grabbing and holding onto every part of him they can, tearing his flesh. They aren't going to let him go, there is nothing he can do. No one is out here to help him or hear his cries of distress. Just as all hope is lost and he has finally succumbed to his fate he sees a small purple and gold flower bending there in his direction. He reaches for the stem and pulls until the roots give in. Just then the shadow descends and he falls into darkness.

Severus woke up with a jolt, gasping for breath, his shirt soaked with sweat. Looking around and seeing his fireplace and desk he relaxed a fraction, letting out a sigh of relief. He frowned looking up at the clock on the wall telling him was half past ten. He had a pounding headache and the small amount of light being produced by his fireplace burned his eyes. He stumbled off the couch making his way into the bathroom to retrieve a headache potion. After he had poured the liquid down his throat he stripped and stepped into the shower. When he turned on the water it was freezing cold and hit him like ice shards, but gradually it became searing hot. It was then he noticed that his skin never had the ability to distinguish this sort of temperature change before. He turned the temperature to warm before continuing with his shower. As he used the soap on his body he also noticed it didn't hurt to put pressure on his skin, a vast improvement to his normal bathing routine. By the time he was done complete shock and awe over his new nerves had set in.

After getting dressed in the normal dress pants, shirt and frock coat he called a house elf and order lunch. He sat there eating sandwiches off the platter while looking at his calendar and lesson plans for the coming year. He noticed there was only a week before the start of the new term, and he still had a small amount of lesson revising to do. He summoned a quill and ink to himself and started to make the changes. About an hour later he was done and he put away his things, and summoned a house elf to clean up the food. After throwing a handful of floo powder into the fire he traveled to Grimmauld Place in search of a few books he needed from the library.

The last thing he expected to see when he arrived in the kitchen was a huge argument, but there it was. Remus, Sirius, Harry, Hermione, Tonks, Arthur and Molly were all there yelling at each other, attempting to be heard over the person next to them.

"…shouldn't have gone in the first place!" yelled Sirius.

"She needed to get them for a potion, it wasn't her fault we were attacked!" Remus bellowed back.

"Sirius, don't yell at Remus!" Tonks screeched coming to his defense.

"It wasn't Remus' fault at all Sirius; if you need to blame anyone blame me!" Hermione tried shouting over Molly who was yelling at Arthur for letting them go in the first place.

Harry was the only one attempting to calm everyone down, "Why was this potion so important anyway?" he asked.

It was then that Severus stepped in, "She was brewing the potion for me," he said in a low cold voice.

Sirius turned towards Severus' voice, "Are you telling me she almost died for your sake?" he asked in a deadly tone.

"I did _not _almost die, it was a scratch!" Hermione shouted in her own and his defense.

"Did you or did you not get those ingredients for a potion you were brewing for him?" Sirius hissed with a feral look in his eyes.

"I wasn't brewing it specifically for him! He was just the test subject, he volunteered!" Hermione tried to explain.

It was so quick that if Severus wasn't already expecting it he would have been tackled straight to the ground. As it were he was able to dodge Sirius' body slam attempt and stupefy him before he could cause himself or anyone else bodily harm.

What Severus didn't expect was Harry tackling him to the ground from behind while he was preoccupied with Sirius. "How dare you stun my godfather!" he bellowed as he took as many swings as he could at Severus' face before he was pulled off by Remus and Arthur.

The look on Severus' face could have killed, "I swear, if you _ever_ do that again Potter, you will not live to regret it," he hissed wiping his bloody lip.

"I'll take my chances _Snape_," Harry answered with equal venom.

"Enough!" Hermione screeched, "I'm tired of this. Harry Potter, how dare you attack a teacher! You should know better; Sirius attacked him, not the other way around! Think before you do something so obviously stupid next time," she finished before stomping off upstairs to the library leaving the rest to deal with it.

When she reached the library doors she took a deep breath. She didn't like coming here angry, it was her only sanctuary here in Grimmauld Place, and she didn't want to taint that with her anger. After counting to ten she turned the knob and entered quietly, making her way over to her favorite chair by the fire. She sat there for a few moments with her elbows on her knees and face in her hands. She heard the door open behind her, but didn't care enough to look who it was. It wasn't until he was at the bookshelf in front of her searching for something when she took notice.

"I'm sorry about that Professor, I didn't mean for you to floo into the middle of that," she explained with a sincere and concerned voice.

He ignored her and continued his search in the bookshelves.

"Also, thank you for trying to divert their rage at me, although you shouldn't have directed it to yourself…" she tried again.

Again he ignored her and took a red colored book off the shelf. From what she could remember about the books here it was called _The Occluded Mind and Soul_.

"That's a great book Professor, why do you need it?" she asked timidly.

His attempt at keeping a stoic expression failed as he directed all of his anger towards her, "Miss Granger please shut you insufferable Know-it-All mouth! I do not wish to converse with you or anyone else," he yelled making blood flow from his already injured lip. He walked over to the fireplace and threw in some powder, but before he could floo away she spoke, "Wait…please…"

He shuddered and took a deep breath keeping his eyes closed, but he didn't step into the fire. She walked over to him and looked into his face. Deciding to forgo words she gently grasped his arm and tugged him towards the chair she had just vacated. He resisted for the first couple of tugs, but then gave in and stiffly made his way to the chair.

"Please sit…for just a moment," she requested.

He glared at her, but a moment later he lowered himself into the soft cushions. He wouldn't make eye contact with her after that, he remained with his eyes fixed firmly on the opposite wall. She took the wand out of her sleeve slowly, "I'm going to fix your lip as it's the least I can do after what you did for me." She gently raised her wand to his mouth and cast a mending spell and _Tergeo_ on it. Without thinking she lifted her hand and traced the faint white line with her finger. He startled then and met her cinnamon colored eyes with his obsidian ones. She felt him trying to press into her mind and wondered what he was looking for. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he stopped his pursuit.

"What are you looking for?" she asked curiously.

He stared at her for a full two minutes before answering, "Your motives. They always have a motive."

She frowned slightly, "Who always has a motive?"

He sighed, in exasperation or desperation she didn't know, "Anyone who decides to help me," he responded in a whisper.

"What makes you think I have a motive besides gaining a friend that I can experiment and discuss potions with?"

"There is nothing more you want? You don't want to use me in some other way to your advantage?" he spat.

"Yes...there is one thing that I want," she confessed.

"And what would that be Miss Granger?"

Without warning she leaned down quickly and pressed her lips to his. She waited for a moment fearing that she had gone way too far, but then for a brief moment he kissed her back. It wasn't heavy, but there it was, he kissed her back. They stayed that way for a few moments before reality suddenly hit him, and he pulled away sharply. He said nothing, just rose swiftly from the chair, strode over to the fireplace, and was gone before she could get a word in edgewise.

She collapsed into the chair that he had just vacated thinking about how she just ruined one of the best things she had going for her, a true friend that could keep up with her mentally. How stupid she thought of herself, doing something so reckless, right after she scolded Harry for doing the same. Except this time she wished that she had actually tackled him and not kissed him. A single tear escaped her eye and she wiped it away quickly. Before she knew what she was doing she walked to the fireplace and flooed back to her lab, completely unaware of the other pair of eyes that had witnessed the whole ordeal.

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><p>Who do you think saw the kiss? Please review. It only takes a second. :-) I have free cookies if you do!<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Ginny stood frozen in time, not daring to move. If she moved then everything would blow up, one wrong step and the whole situation would go sky high. She watched on silently under Harry's invisibility cloak as Hermione leaned down and kissed him, he eyes growing impossibly wide. It only lasted for a couple of seconds, but it was enough to change everything she knew about her friend. Hermione Granger had just kissed the dreaded potion professor of the dungeons, the spy for the Order, and her teacher. Just as quickly as it occurred he broke away, and without saying a word fled to another part of the world via fireplace. Ginny fought with herself for a moment too long. Should she go over and comfort her friend, or stay hidden? As she was about to unveil herself Hermione stood up and followed suit into the fireplace. Shaking her head she turned towards the desk next to her. '_I'll deal with that later I guess.'_

Uncovering herself she threw the cloak on the nearby desk, and sat in the chair, putting the book that she had in her hands in front of her. Flipping it open and looking at the table of contents she scanned for what she was looking for, _Death Spells_. There was a reason for the invisibility cloak. If anyone saw her reading this material she would be in a heap of hell.

_The __Killing Curse, __also known as the __Avada Kedavra Curse,__ is a __spell__ that causes instantaneous __death__ and is one of the three __Unforgivable Curses__. The Killing Curse was invented during the middle ages, by a group witches and wizards for a rebel cause. The need to kill the enemy quickly in duels was necessary, as the rebels were few in number. This often caused mass killings by just a few people, as the curse was created primarily as a means of quickly and efficiently slaying one's opponent in a duel. The killing curse is a popular curse to use whenever these witches or wizards decided to make a Horcrux, as it is quick and efficient and already has the power behind it to transfer the soul into the object. It was not unheard of these rebels to have up to 20 Horcruxes each at the time of their reign._

_Along with the __Cruciatus__ and __Imperius__ curses, the Killing Curse is known as one of the most terrible curses in the wizarding world. After the __Wizards' Council__ was reformed into the __Ministry of Magic__ restrictions were placed on the use of this kind of magic. The Killing Curse was deemed by the Ministry to be __dark magic__, and, along with the __Cruciatus__ and __Imperius__ curses, were declared "unforgivable" in __1717__, with the Killing Curse considered to be the most deadly of the three. _

_The Avada Kedavra curse is recognizable by the flash of green light and the rushing noise emitted from the caster's wand. When the curse hits a living, organic target it invariably kills them without injury. However, when this curse hits an inanimate target the effect varies: it can produce small fires, small greenish explosions, or explosions of such intensity that it has been known to blow up an entire story of a cottage. _

_The curse requires a great deal of magical talent to perform correctly, as large amounts of concentration is required to cast the Killing Curse. Victims of the Killing Curse are identified by the fact that they simply appear to have dropped dead for no biological reason. Presumably, the Killing Curse does not inflict any pain on its target, since it causes instantaneous death. The biological reasons for the victim's death have never been fully explained. It is possible that the victim's internal organs cease function, or that once the spell hits a person's body, it simply kills every living cell in the victim's body. It could also cause sudden brain death. In addition to this, it is possible that it causes a person's soul to "pass on", and leave the body, similar to when the body dies naturally, and the soul passes on into afterlife._

_Avada Kedavra__ is Aramaic meaning "be destroyed at this word"._

As Ginny was finishing the page she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She was able to stash the book in a drawer and the cloak underneath the desk and move to the seat by the fire with one of her medicine books when Harry, Sirius, and Remus walked in. Harry was fuming while talking to Sirius, and Remus was attempting to calm them down enough so they would listen to reason. Ever being the actress, Ginny closed her book and turned towards them, "Hello everyone. Harry, are you alright?" she asked in a concerned voice, rising off the couch, and striding over to the group.

"Yea Ginny, I'm great," he said with a dark sarcastic tone.

She sighed deeply and turned to Remus to explain, giving him a 'Want to explain?' look.

Remus rolled his eyes at Harry, "Sirius tried to attack Severus and missed. Severus stupefied him so he wouldn't try again, and then Harry saw fit to attack him while he was distracted," he clarified. She saw the range of emotions roll across the other two men's faces, abhorrence and irritation, but guiltiness passed by Harry's as well.

Harry looked around the library, "Where's Hermione? I wanted to apologize to her for being a bit of a dunderhead," he asked smiling sheepishly at the red head.

Ginny turned to point at the fireplace, "She's gone now."

Sirius took on a guilty, but worried look, "Did she say where she was going?"

Shaking her head she responded, "She didn't. I was over there looking for this book when she entered, stomped over to the fireplace, and flooed away," she said indicating the portion of library on the opposite side of the room from the desk and holding up the medicine book.

Harry nodded, "She has been spending a lot of time in her lab, she is probably there. I'm sure she's fine and just brewing off the steam. We can apologize to her at dinner," he finished and held out his hand for Ginny to take before leaving the room and heading downstairs.

Sirius turned to Remus his face showing unease, "You don't think she'll do anything stupid do you?"

Remus gave a small laugh, "Hermione? Stupid? I don't believe that to be possible."

Sirius gave a small smile, "Yea, you're right. I'll just wait for dinner to beg for forgiveness," he whispered and walked out of the library with Remus behind him.

She wanted her mother. Her mother always knew what to do or say anytime Hermione had a problem. It was then that it struck her how alone she felt. She turned to Kapila who was in her frame picking a few berries and feeding them to her deer, "Kapila, sometimes I really wish you could talk." The nymph just gave a small sympathetic smile and nodded. She perched herself on a stool and thought for a few minutes. Maybe she would find something to help in her mother's book collection. She always seemed to have the perfect book to give her daughter.

Standing up from her stool she left her lab and headed upstairs to the main doors of the school. It was a little after midday and the sun shone brightly. The cool wind hit her face and she smiled a little at the wonderful weather. She took her time walking to the point outside the gate where she could apparate and just thought.

_Maybe I can pretend it never happened. We can just go on being potion friends and forget completely. Yeah right…I believe this is a point in which you can't return from. He did kiss me back though! I felt it. Maybe he does feel something? Or maybe I'm just going completely insane…_

Shaking her head minutely to clear her thoughts she pictured the patch of yard right next to her mother's garden and with a loud _Crack_ she reappeared just shy of the now dying tomato plants. She kneeled down next to the browning leaves and touched them softly. They fell to the ground at her feet, and she sighed sadly. She cast _Aguamenti_ on the garden and continued inside. Making her way into the living room she found the section of shelving that contained her mother's book collection. After searching for a couple of minutes and not finding anything she gave up sat down on the couch and just wept. Now would be about the time her mother would come in with a mug of steaming and creamy hot chocolate, which _always_ made her feel better. She would then sit next to her, put her arms around her, and ask her to tell her about all of the problems she was having. This time however there was no hot chocolate, no being wrapped up in her mother's arms, and no pouring her soul out to her. There was nothing, just an empty house that was getting darker as the sun set.

She didn't know how long she sat there, but she finally noticed the time lapse as the sun disappeared under the horizon setting the sky on fire. She stood and watched the sky get doused with the color of deep ocean water and become littered with small dots of light. She almost wished to be the secret keeper of their new home, that way she could actually go and see them when she needed it.

It was then that she heard a small crash from the room next to her. She didn't know who or what it was, but she needed to leave right now. Focusing on the gates outside of Hogwarts she went to apparate, but failed. Now she really started to panic. There was only one reason she couldn't apparate. They had found her and needed to trap her. That was when she saw the silver glimpse from the kitchen, a Deatheater's mask. She flicked the wand out of her sleeve and threw a _Stupefy_ hex its way. It missed and hit the table, causing the few dishes left on it to go flying. He threw a curse at her and she dodged it rolling behind the sofa. Looking for a way out she spotted the back door, but not knowing how many there were she couldn't be sure it was safe.

Thinking quickly she brought up a happy memory and released her otter from her wand, "Go find help, tell them I'm at my old house," she whispered to the ghostly creature which fled through the nearest wall after her command. She looked over the edge of the sofa and didn't see him in the kitchen anymore and decided to make a dash into the backyard and out the side gate. As she got ready to sprint she cast a disillusioned herself and waited for the cold feeling to reach her toes.

Once she was sure it was clear she made a mad dash, and reached her backyard. Turning towards the gate she saw the rest of them, there were three out here. Not sure if they had seen her yet she made her way as quickly as she could to the gate, and was about to open it when the spell hit her in the back, the Cruciatus. She fell to the ground instantly and couldn't contain her shriek of pain, but she noticed that she could scream, they had silenced her. They held her under the curse for what seemed like ten minutes before it stopped. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't call for help, and her vision blurred in front of her. The only thing she could think about was the pain and hoped it stopped. The only thing she could see were a pair of black boots in front of her, and she closed her eyes waiting for the pain to come once again, but the pain never came. A pair of arms picked her up and she struggled against them as much as she could, which was pitiful. They gripped her tighter pulling her closer to their body. That was when she smelled it. She knew that smell, better than she probably should have. Blinking her eyes she tried to get her vision to focus. She could tell they were moving and that there were many people around them, and that is when she felt the uncomfortable ride of apparition.

She didn't know where she was being taken, but her body and mind no longer cared as it let her slip into peaceful and painless oblivion.


End file.
